I'll Stand By You
by FinchelFan728
Summary: Finn and Rachel knew something was wrong with their daughter, but she insisted everything was fine. What is really happening? And what will it take for her to open up? Takes place in 2027. Finchel, with other glee couples and Finchel's daughter/ OC.
1. Chapter 1: Back To School

_Hi everyone! I can't believe this is my seventh story! This story is somewhat of a sequel to "Keep Holding On." It takes place three years after "Keep Holding On" and mostly focuses on Finchel and their thirteen-year-old daughter. If you haven't read "Keep Holding On" yet I recommend you do so you have a better idea of the background. It's also part of the sequence with "Senior Year" and "The Future"_

_A few changes: thanks to my RPing, I have decided to work Finn and Kurt's little sister from my RPs into my story. She'll be appearing in future chapters. Another thing I'm wondering about - I've used Fabrevans in previous stories in this squence, but I'm being converted to Quick, so which should I use for this story?_

_Hope you enjoy the first chapter and review if I should keep going!_

Chapter 1: Back to School

Finn and Rachel Hudson were in the kitchen together, making pancakes for breakfast for their four children, Ryan and Emma, who were thirteen-year-old twins, Sarah, who was nine, and Grant, who was three. Today was the first day of school, the first year all four kids would be going to school. Leaving Finn and Rachel empty nesters for the first time since they were in college.

Rachel turned to Finn as she flipped a pancake and sighed. "I can't believe at this time next year, our little boy and our little girl will be in high school."

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Finn said. "I remember when we were picking them up from OSU's baby day care center!"

"Before we know it we'll be taking them off to college," Rachel said, not believing how fast her kids were growing up.

Finn laughed. "Don't say that, Rachel! I don't want to think about them leaving!"

Despite their complicated past in high school, the craziness that had been their college years and the family tragedy three years ago, right now was a good time to be Finn and Rachel. Even though they'd originally thought they'd live in New York, with Rachel as a Broadway star and Finn as a professional football player, their life in an innerring suburb of Cleveland, where Rachel directed the high school's vocal music department and Finn taught writing to gifted writers at one of the district's three middle schools. Ryan and Emma would be starting eighth grade at Miramar Middle School, Sarah was starting fourth grade at Cambridge Elementary School and Grant was starting preschool at the district's early childhood center.

"Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy!" Finn and Rachel looked down to see Grant standing there.

"Hey little guy," Finn said. "Ready for your first day of preschool?"

"Yeah!" Grant said. "It's the same one Ryan, Emma and Sarah went to, right?"

"That's right!" Rachel said. She resisted the urge to add that Jack went there too, but it was still difficult for her to talk about Jack. She and Finn often talked about him after the kids were in bed. Ryan, Emma and Sarah still openly talked about Jack several times a week.

"Aren't the big kids excited for school?" Grant asked.

"They've been in school for a while," Rachel said. "I think the beginning of a new school year's less exciting for them by now."

"I'm going to wake them up!" Grant shouted, running upstairs screaming. "GET UP! SCHOOL STARTS TODAY!"

Finn looked at Rachel and laughed. "We'll see if he's this excited in a few years."

"I predict next year Ryan and Emma will be excited though," Rachel said. "I mean, they're starting high school next year."

"Yeah, I think Heights will be a better fit than Miramar," Finn said. Because of where they lived in the school district, Ryan and Emma were forced to attend Miramar Middle School. It was no secret that Roxbury Middle School, where Finn taught, was easily the best of the district's three middle schools. It got the highest test scores, had the least fights and the kids there, for the most part, were very well behaved. The majority of middle class families in the area of the city where the Hudsons lived sent their kids to private schools. No one knew why, because that area's demographics weren't much different from the rest of the city.

"Do you think it was a mistake not trying to get them a transfer to Roxbury?" Finn suddenly asked.

Rachel began thinking. "Well, Ryan seems to be fine," she thought out loud. "I mean, I know he doesn't have a lot of friends but he has Nick and they're pretty inseparable... it's really Emma I'm worried about."

"I know," Finn said. "And I feel like an idiot... she never talks about school and doesn't seem to have friends there..."

Every time Finn and Rachel tried to talk to their daughter about school, she insisted everything was fine. "She says things are fine but I don't think they are," Rachel said.

"We'll need to watch her carefully," Finn said. "I saw red flags right away when both her close elementary school friends left the district."

Now Rachel was feeling increasingly concerned about her daughter. She'd gotten through two years at Miramar and only had one left, but one year could be a lot. Rachel knew that well. She'd had a difficult high school experience. She didn't want her own kids to go through what she'd been through. Over the past few years, the family had in a way still been grieving and sometimes let their grief take over. But everyone else's life was still going on around them.

"Last year of middle school!" Finn and Rachel turned to see Ryan standing there. "Top of the school! Next year - Heights!"

"And you're the goalie of the soccer team now!" Finn told his son.

Ryan smiled wide. "Yup. And student council president, vice president of Science Olympiad and Mock Trial, first chair trumpet and lead baritone in the show choir."

Rachel looked at her son. "Keep an eye on your sister, okay?"

Ryan gave her a confused look. "Okay. She's often off to the side at school though."

"Encourage her to join some of your extracurriculars," Finn said, looking at Rachel.

"Okay, I will," Ryan said. "Is she okay? She seems fine..."  
>Rachel looked at Finn. "We just want her to enjoy her last year of middle school."<p>

"You made pancakes! Thanks Mom!" Rachel heard Sarah call. Rachel now knew it was time to stop this conversation.

"Fourth grade," Sarah announced proudly. "Now I'm old enough to be in challenge choir, FINALLY. I think I've BEEN talented enough, but the school has a fourth grade requirement."

"Of course you're talented enough," Finn said. "You're Rachel Hudson's daughter!"

"The school just didn't want to have you outshining all the older kids," Rachel said proudly. So apparently Ryan and Sarah WERE looking forward to going back to school.

Rachel looked over at Emma who was just eating her breakfast. Emma had enjoyed the summer, mainly because of summer camp, writing camp, the family trip to California and summer swim team. But now she looked pretty bummed.

"You okay?" Rachel asked her oldest daughter.

"Mom, I'm fine," Emma said. "Don't worry about me. You've had enough to worry about to last you the rest of your life."

_Don't worry about me. You've had enough to worry about to last you the rest of your life._ Something definitely didn't sound right there.

"Okay, honey," Rachel said quietly. "But you can always come to me."

"I know," Emma said.

Rachel and Finn took the kids' traditional first day of school pictures before Finn left for Roxbury and Rachel left for Heights, dropping Grant off at preschool on the way. Rachel watched as Ryan and Emma began walking down the street to Miramar and Sarah began walking to Cambridge. She just hoped everything truly was alright.

x

Emma nervously walked to school with her brother. She didn't want to go back to Miramar. The teachers weren't that great and lots of the kids were obnoxious. Fights broke out at least once a week.

"Hey, you know if things are ever upsetting you at school you can tell me, right?" Ryan suddenly said.

"First Mom and Dad, now you," Emma said. Had someone told her family something? "Why is everyone so worried?"

"Maybe because we care," Ryan said. "You should think about joining some of my extracurriculars. Maybe you could find some friends there."

"The paper's enough," Emma said.

"The paper that comes out three times a year that teachers re write just about everyone's stories but yours for," Ryan said. "You could find more friends if you join some of the groups I'm in."

"I'll think about it," Emma said.

"You should," Ryan said.

Ryan's best friend, Nick, came up to Ryan and Emma. "Hey Ryan!" He looked at Emma, causing Emma's heart to skip a beat. "Hey Emma. Didn't see you much this summer because you were at writing camp for so long. How've you been?"

Well, now she was good because Nick was talking to her. Nick Dougherty. The cutest, nicest, smartest boy at Miramar Middle School. But there was no chance Nick Dougherty would want to be with Emma Hudson. He wasn't exactly Mr. Popular, but he was the school board president's son, captain of the soccer team, vice president of the student council, president of the Middle School scholars Program, first chair French horn and lead tenor. What more did he need? "I'm doing fine, how are you?" Emma asked, still trying to hide how happy she was.

"Another year here, but at least one more year till Heights," Nick said. He turned to Ryan. "I just hope people don't give me a hard time..."

"It's not your fault!" Ryan said. "It's HER fault. If people give you a hard time, they're idiots."

"Wait, what happened?" Emma asked, feeling bad for butting in on her brother's friend's business.

"Oh, it happened when you were at writing camp so you didn't hear," Ryan said. "Over the summer, Mackenzie decided to cheat on Nick and have a fling with a senior from the high school."

"That's awful," Emma said. She didn't understand why Nick had dated Mackenzie Adams, a girl in the grade above them, for about six months last year. That girl didn't even seem very nice. She did feel a guilty pleasure that Nick was now back on the market, but felt sorry for him nonetheless.

"Look Nick, at least you don't have to see her every day now that she's at the high school," Ryan said.

"I guess you're right," Nick said. "It's just embarrassing, you know?"

The three teens approached the school. "I'm going to go to my locker, okay?" Emma said to her brother.

"Okay," Ryan said. "Just remember what I told you earlier."

Emma sighed as she headed to her locker. For the past two years she'd been getting bullied, but she tried to cover it up. She didn't want to upset her family, they'd already been through so much. But it didn't seem like she could hide it much longer. Finn, Rachel and Ryan all seemed to be able to tell something was wrong.

Emma went to her locker in the girls' hall. Miramar had all the girls' lockers in one hall and the boys' in another because they thought the hall fights would decrease that way. Little did they know...

Emma unlocked her locker and began putting her books in. She heard a voice behind her. "Oh look, the loser's back."

Emma turned to see Dominique Washington, Tiffany King and Brianna Chandler. They were the three girls who'd tormented Emma the most over the past two years. This year, sadly, they were also the eighth grade cheerleading captains.

"Leave me alone!" Emma said.

"What are you going to do?" Dominique asked. "Tell your parents who had you at 20?"

"Don't talk shit about my parents!" Emma snapped.

"Getting defensive now are we?" Tiffany laughed as she pushed Emma over. Emma frantically looked around the hall as the three girls laughed. Almost everyone seemed involved in their own conversations. She hoped no one had seen what happened.

The first bell rang, indicating students that it was time to go to class. "Saved by the bell," Brianna sneered. "But you haven't seen the last of us."

Fighting back tears, Emma picked up her books and began heading to class. It was only the first day and already she'd been shoved. How much more could she take?

_PREVIEW OF NEXT CHAPTER: Finn and Rachel talk to some Glee friends about their concerns for Emma. Hudson family moments. Emma and Nick get closer._

_Review if I should keep writing!_


	2. Chapter 2: Wish You Were Here

_Thanks for all the positive reviews on Chapter 1! I love writing Finchel fics and there will be LOTS of Finchel throughout this fic and lots of Finchel family moments. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please comment if you enjoy it and want me to continue._

_And I wanted to apologize for something: one of my readers managed to find a mathematical error in here and messaged me ;) Since Grant was born in 2025, that would make him two, not three. I got confused because it took place three years after "Keep Holding On," which begins in 2024, but Grant was born in 2025. So he's two, not three. Sorry for the mistake..._

_And one more thing - should I post pictures of the Hudson kids so you know what they look like?_

Chapter 2: Wish You Were Here

The bell finally rang, letting Emma know that the school day was over. At last. It was only the first day of school and already she'd been shoved over. She didn't even know why these girls were so cruel to her. All she knew was that they shoved her into lockers, pushed her down in halls, hit her, made fun of her clothes and her body, had stolen things from her... and the list went on. Had the situation reached a breaking point? Should she tell her parents the truth?

Emma made it out of the girls' hallway without being stopped by Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany. She went into the main hall, where Ryan was with Nick.

"You going home?" Ryan asked Emma.

"Yeah," Emma said.

"Okay, I've got soccer practice," Ryan said. "Was the day okay?"

"I'm fine, Ryan," Emma said quietly. The school day couldn't be over soon enough. Why? Why did people treat her this way? She wasn't any different from anyone else. She couldn't hold it in much longer.

Emma got home and unlocked the door, where Sarah was sitting at the dining room table, eating a snack. "How was your first day?" Sarah asked.

"Eh, it was okay," Emma said. She COULDN'T tell her younger sister what was going on. Sarah would tell their parents. "How was yours?"

"I already made the honor choir," Sarah announced. "I'm pretty sure I'll be getting solos for the concert. Mom told me she always got solos, and I got my talent from her."

"You know, you don't need to be so full of yourself," Emma snapped.

Sarah gave her a look. "What?"

"Look, you're good, I get it, you don't need to shove it in everyone else's face," Emma said. "If you want people to like you, take it down. Our mother used to obsess about her talent and she had no friends in middle school or until she met Dad in high school. That could be you too, so I recommend you stop talking that way." She saw the hurt in her sister's face and immediately regretted what she said. Sarah had her diva moments, but usually she was a really sweet girl. And it wasn't like she "shoved it in everyone's face" all the time. She was probably the best singer and dancer Emma had seen besides their mom.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry I said that," Emma said. But it was too late. Sarah was storming off to her room and called back, "You're the worst sister ever, Emma!"

Everyone at school hates me and now my sister hates me, Emma thought to herself. She just needed to get her stress out and as a result, she made her sister cry. Rachel was staying after school for assessments for the high school's choirs and Finn was getting Grant from day care. Ryan was at soccer and Sarah wasn't talking to Emma. So now Emma decided she'd do what she always did when she needed someone to talk to. She left a note on the dining room table saying she went for a walk and got on her bike.

Emma rode her bike to the cemetery behind the church, which was where Jack was buried. She still missed Jack so much. She knew her parents went at least twice a week, but over the past two years, whenever she needed someone to talk to, she went to Jack's grave and talked to him. She'd never told anyone she did that. She feared if she told people they'd think she was crazy. Jack had only been five when he died, but Emma still felt like he was listening when she told him about what was happening. Also she never had to worry about him telling people.

Emma parked her bike on the bike rack near the church and went into the cemetery. She went up to Jack's grave and read the engravement. Even after three years, seeing her brother's name on a grave still stung.

**Jack Christopher Hudson**

**June 24, 2019**

**December 12, 2024**

**Son of Finn and Rachel**

**Brother of Ryan, Emma, Sarah and Grant**

"Hey Jack," Emma whispered. "Sorry I haven't been in a while. Well, I came a few times this summer, but that was because I was gone so much. I had the most unbelievable summer. I did a writing camp in New York for a month and met all sorts of cool people. I also went to the same camp I went to when you were around for two weeks. Remember, you cried when Ryan and I left for camp? Our family went to California and it was amazing. Especially the beach. I did summer swim team when I was home too and we won the championship..." She kept talking about all the fun things that had happened that summer before getting to the real purpose of her visit.

"School started today, Jack," Emma said. "You'd be in third grade now. Sarah's in fourth grade and Ryan and I are in eighth grade. It's only the first day and already I've been pushed down in the hall. Ugh, I don't know how much more I can take, Jack!"

She started crying. She liked to think that her brother was listening to her. "I wish I hadn't gone to Miramar! I have no friends there and the bullying's been too hard to handle. I have a feeling this year might be even worse than last year. I don't know what to do Jack! I just don't! And even worse, Mom and Dad and Ryan know that something's wrong. I don't know if I should tell them. So much stress has happened in their lives already. I just wish you were here. You never even got to meet Grant."

Emma just sat by Jack's grave and cried for about twenty minutes. She didn't want to be back at Miramar and she just wanted her little brother back. Finally, she stood up and began walking out of the cemetery when she saw a familiar face entering. "Nick?"

"Hey Emma," Nick said. "What are you doing here?"

Emma hesitated, but then she decided she could tell Nick without saying what she was talking to Jack about. "Well, you know about Jack from Ryan. This is where Jack is buried. Sometimes I just come here and talk. It makes me feel closer to him, like he's still here and we can still have a relationship."

Nick smiled at Emma. "I think when we lose someone, it's important to find ways to stay close to them. I do the same thing."

"So you've lost someone too?" Emma asked. Ryan had never mentioned that to her.

"Yeah," Nick said. "My mom."

Emma gasped. "Your mom?"

Nick looked down. "She smoked for most of her life. When I was nine she died really unexpectedly of a heart attack. It's hard for me to talk about. My dad doesn't really talk about her with my brother and me. I told Ryan about her and talk to him about her sometimes, but I really haven't ever said anything to anyone else."

"I'm so sorry, Nick," Emma said quietly.

"It's kind of like what it sounds like it is with you and Jack," Nick said. "I come here sometimes to talk to my mom. It makes me feel like our relationship isn't over. My brother was only six when she died. I don't know if he'll even remember her in ten years."

"Yeah, Grant never even got to meet Jack," Emma said. "He's too young to really know what happened."

"It's all really sad," Nick said.

Emma's phone went off. "That's a text from my dad. I should probably get home now. Bye Nick."

"Bye Emma," Nick called.

Emma smiled to herself. Nick was so sweet and made her feel better. Maybe this year wouldn't be all bad. She got on her bike and biked home. When she went inside she saw Finn sitting on the couch, reading a book to Grant. When Emma came in, Finn looked up from the book and gave Emma an angry look. "What happened with your sister?"

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, before the memories of her argument with Sarah came back.

"She told me that you said some nasty things to her, that you wished she'd shut up about her talent and that she was being a brat and that if she keeps acting this way no one will like her," Finn said. "Ring any bells?"

Emma sighed. "I said some stuff like that. I'm sorry, Dad."

"What prompted you to say that?" Finn asked.

"I just had a bad day at school," Emma said, not wanting to share the full story.

"What happened?" Finn asked.

Emma paused, trying to think of the right way to tell her dad without revealing too much. "I fell down in the middle of the hallway and some girls laughed at me and it was embarrassing. That's all." She went upstairs to apologize to Sarah before she began seeming like she was the equivalent of the mean girls at school to her own sister.

Emma knocked on the door. "Hey Sarah, can I come in?"

"Are you going to insult me more?" Sarah asked.

"No," Emma said softly. "I came to tell you how sorry I am."

"Maybe you're right," Sarah said, looking at Emma. "I guess I'm not talented as I thought I was."

"Don't say that," Emma said, sitting down and putting her arm around her sister. "You and Mom are the best singers and dancers I've EVER seen. You are VERY talented. I was having a bad day at school and I was stressed when I got home. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"I'm sorry," Sarah said. "I love you."

Emma hugged her sister. "I love you, too."

x

Finn couldn't help but wonder what had happened at school with Emma. She had NEVER screamed at her sister like that before. The girls seemed to have made up but he was still wondering. Had something else happened that she wasn't telling him about?

"Daddy, I want my teddy," Grant said. Finn had been distracted that his youngest son was right there.

"Here you go," Finn said, getting the teddy bear down from the top of the shelf. Grant began playing with his stuffed animals as Finn sighed and got out his cell phone. He needed to take action on this, and now. But he wasn't going to call the school just yet. He took out his phone and dialed Puck's number. Puck still lived in Lima, but they talked several times a week and saw each other every month or two. This was one of those times when you just needed a friend to talk to.

"Hey, how's it going?" Puck said when he answered the phone.

Finn sighed. "I'm really worried about Emma."

"What's going on?" Puck asked.

"I don't know, that's the thing," Finn said. "She says everything's fine. She's been quiet and won't talk about school for two years. Today she told me she had a bad day, but when I asked her what happened, she just said she fell in the middle of the hall. I doubt that would upset her so much."

"Did you try talking to Ryan?" Puck asked.

"He doesn't know of anything," Finn said.

"Okay, you need to call the school," Puck said. "The counselors, the teachers, someone's bound to know something."

"I'll try that," Finn said. "Thanks Puck. I really wish Emma had a group like New Directions."

"She'll find one," Puck said. "Speaking of New Directions, I talked to Blaine last night and he told me they're coming from New York to visit you in Cleveland this weekend. If you guys don't mind, can we come in too?"

Finn smiled. "I'd love that. I bet Rachel would, too."

"Maybe someone at the school will know something," Puck said.

"I'll try, see you this weekend," Finn said, hanging up the phone. Tomorrow morning he would call the school. As he hung up, Rachel came in with Ryan. "How was the first day at Roxbury?" Rachel asked Finn.

"It went fine," Finn said. "How about at Heights?"

"We have a really strong choir this year, I'm impressed," Rachel said. "Sorry I'm late at getting home, I had assessments to do."

"At least this way you could pick me up from soccer," Ryan said.

Finn laughed. "How was the first day at Miramar?"

"Fine," Ryan said. "But Emma still seems upset... I didn't see anything though."

Finn and Rachel exchanged a look. "Thank you for telling us that."

Ryan began heading upstairs. "You're welcome."

Rachel looked at Finn. "She won't tell us, she won't tell Ryan. What are we going to do?"

"Puck said we should call the school," Finn said. "I'm willing to give that a try. He also said that this weekend they'd like to visit since Kurt and Blaine are coming."

"That would be great," Rachel said. "I just hope the school knows something."

"So do I," Finn said, kissing Rachel. "So do I."

_Next chapter preview: We will see several other Glee couples. We will also see more of the bullying :( Will Emma finally tell someone? Review if you want me to keep going!_


	3. Chapter 3: Show Choir

_Well, thanks for so many nice reviews! Hope everyone enjoys Chapter 3 and seeing some of our favorite Gleeks. Despite using Fabrevans in the past, I'm using Quick for this because that's what lots of people requested when I wasn't sure which to use. I enjoyed writing this chapter and hope you enjoy reading it. Let me know if I should keep going :) Also, fanfic wouldn't let me embed the pictures or the link. If you want to see them, leave a comment and I'll PM you the link.  
><em>

Chapter 3: Show Choir

The first week of the school year was over. Rachel had over 300 vocal music students at the high school to work with, but was impressed with them. Finn had already assigned his students a story. Ryan had won a soccer game against Mount Vernon, the third middle school in the district. Sarah already had picked a song for the honor choir to sing. Finn and Rachel were still trying to find out what was happening with Emma.

Finn had called the school the morning of the second day of school. He told Rachel that the principal told him that since it was only the second day of school, it was too early to know anything. She said that she didn't know of anything over the last two years, but she would send an e-mail to all Emma's teachers and her counselor to ask them to keep an extra eye out. Rachel was discouraged, but she and Finn agreed this would have to do for now.

They agreed it would be a nice relief to see their Glee friends this weekend, something that often made them feel better. Quinn and Puck were coming in from Lima with their two children, ten-year-old Adam and eight-year-old Maddie. Kurt and Blaine were coming in from New York with their sons, nine-year-old Michael and seven-year-old Brandon.

Most of the Glee club still lived in Lima. Besides Quinn and Puck, Sam lived there with his wife Ashley and their daughters nine-year-old Molly and seven-year-old Lily, as did Mike and Tina with their five-year-old son Joey and their two-year-old son George and Artie and Brittany with their three children, seven-year-old Mitchell, six-year-old Alicia and three-year-old Ian. Mercedes and Matt lived in Detroit with their sons eight-year-old Chris and six-year-old Jared. Santana and her wife Michelle lived in Las Vegas with their daughters, ten-year-old Jenna and seven-year-old Carly. Rory ended up moving to the United States, but he lived in Chicago with his wife Harmony and their five-year-old daughter Kaitlyn. Finn and Rachel had even kept in touch with the freshman they'd mentored their senior year, Jake and Kylie, who were now married and lived in the DC area with their eight-year-old son Joshua Finn Cirino and seven-year-old daughter Abigail Rachel Cirino. The other underclassmen from their senior year were all over the place, and only one couple from that group had ended up getting married, Hannah and Johnny, and they lived in central Pennsylvania and had a three-year-old daughter named Miranda and a baby boy named Jordan. Finn and Rachel weren't as close with the rest of the underclassmen from their senior year, but still sent cards to them every year for Christmas.

"It'll be really great to see our friends," Finn said to Rachel as they cooked a lunch for their friends. Since the kids were coming along, they decided to make a barbecue so there'd be food the kids liked.

"I've said this before, but I think Emma's life would be much more enjoyable if she had a group of friends like this," Rachel told Finn.  
>Finn nodded. "I just wish we knew what was going on that's making her so unhappy. She says she's fine... but I know she isn't."<p>

"Guess what?" Finn and Rachel turned and saw Ryan standing in the kitchen.

"What is it?" Finn asked.

"I totally just heard Emma singing along to the radio," Ryan said. "I think she could get the female solos in show choir. We could really use a strong female lead. We have a few girls who are good, but we really need a consistent lead who can keep up with Nick vocally."

"She was in honor choir in elementary school," Rachel remembered. "Glee might be good for her."

"It's called SHOW CHOIR at our school, Mom," Ryan said. "That's what it's called at Heights, too, and you still say Glee?"

"Sorry, it was called Glee when I was in high school," Rachel laughed.

"I'm going to try to convince her to join," Ryan said. His phone went off and he looked at it. "It's Nick. Can he come over?"

"If he doesn't mind a house full of people," Finn said.

"He already knows the New Directions alumni," Ryan said. "Remember, last year he came along to Nationals with us?"

"Of course," Rachel said. Every year the Hudson family still traveled to Nationals. Well, they were all secretly cheering for McKinley, but the Heights Singers always qualified. Since it was in New York last year, the whole original group decided to travel to New York to cheer the New Directions on.

"I think it would be a good idea for her to join show choir," Finn said to Rachel. "She seems to think the paper's enough, but it doesn't do much good for her socially. I think even ONE friend would make things better for her."

"I like the way you think Finn Hudson," Rachel giggled, giving Finn a kiss.

"Okay, nice that you two like each other, but do you HAVE to kiss all the time?" Ryan called from the living room.

"When you fall in love you'll get it," Finn called. "I just hope you get half as lucky as I did."

Rachel smiled at her husband. She was so lucky to have found him. If only Emma found her very own Finn - it may make school easy for her.

Rachel heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it," she told Finn, heading for the door. She looked at the door and saw Nick there. "Hey Nick."

"Hey Rachel, where's Ryan?" Nick said.

"He's in the living room," Rachel said, letting Nick in. As Nick went in, Rachel saw Emma coming downstairs and noticed a look on Emma's face. It was the same look Rachel got in high school when she looked at Finn, longing for him. "Hey Mom," Emma said. "Need any help in the kitchen?"

"That would be great," Rachel said. They cut through the living room, where Ryan and Nick were looking through a magazine.

"Hi Nick," Emma said. Again, Rachel recognized that voice.

"I'm glad it's the weekend," Emma said to Rachel as they began getting the grill ready.

"So am I," Rachel said.

"Hey Mom, can I ask you something?" Emma said.

"Of course," Rachel said. Maybe now she'd begin to figure things out.

"Do you think at Heights next year, I'll mostly have classes with Miramar kids or are the classes pretty mixed?" Emma asked.

This could mean one thing: Emma wanted to get away from the Miramar kids. "Well, from what I've heard talking to the teachers of academic subjects, the honors classes are mostly kids from Roxbury, but I think you'd be in the honors classes," Rachel said. "Is there someone at Miramar you want to avoid?"

"There's some obnoxious kids at Miramar who I hope I can get away from at Heights," Emma said. "But I don't think they'd be in honors classes."

"What do these kids do that you don't like?" Rachel asked.

"They're rude and they do inappropriate things in the hallways," Emma said. "And there's a few girls who just don't like you for no reason."

"Anything else you'd like to tell me about these kids?" Rachel asked.

"Mom, you don't need to worry about me," Emma said.

Rachel sighed, but she couldn't really blame Emma. When she was a teenager, it was hard for her to open up to her parents as well. She and Finn had always tried to maintain an open relationship with their kids and they always HAD been close to their kids, but at the end of the day, they were still the parents and there were still things the kids couldn't go to their parents about. Or rather, they felt uncomfortable going to their parents about.

"You know you can always talk to me if something's upsetting you, right?" Rachel asked her daughter.

"Yeah, I know," Emma said.

The doorbell rang and Finn went to it, greeting the Puckermans and the Hummel-Andersons. Brendan, Michael and Adam went upstairs to join Ryan and Nick (and Grant, who was trying to tag around), while Maddie went off to hang out with Sarah. Emma went to join the girls, which was fine by Rachel. This way she could really tell her friends what was bothering her.

"So, I just saw Emma and I already noticed a difference," Puck said.

"We wish we knew what was going on," Rachel sighed.

"Finn, did you call the school like I told you to?" Puck asked.

"Yeah, I did," Finn said. "They told us they'd keep an extra eye out for her."

"Well, that's SOMETHING," Kurt said. "I just hope it doesn't get as bad as it got for me with Karofsky, whatever's going on."  
>"You should tell her to join an extracurricular group," Blaine said. "We all found friends in Glee, what about the choir at her school?"<p>

"Ryan heard her singing along to the radio this morning, he said she's actually pretty good," Finn said.

"She's your daughter, of course she's got an amazing voice," Kurt said.

"Yeah, she makes sure EVERYONE knows that." Rachel turned to see Emma. "I was just coming to see when the food will be ready."

"Soon, honey," Rachel said. "And we weren't just talking about Sarah. We were talking about you."

"Me?" Emma said. "I haven't sang publicly since the district's musical in fifth grade."

"Apparently your eagle eared brother overheard you this morning," Blaine laughed.

"He overhears EVERYTHING," Emma laughed. "I actually am thinking of joining the show choir at my school."

"You should, I think you'd enjoy it," Puck said.

"Trust me, if you're anything like your parents and your siblings, you'd be hogging all the solos in choir," Quinn said.

"Every boy at Miramar would be knocking on your door," Kurt added.

"Well - " Emma began. She paused, but then decided she could trust her parents and her parents' friends. "There's only one boy at Miramar I want to impress."

"We can keep a secret," Blaine said.

"I'm in love with Nick," Emma blurted out.

"Nick?" Rachel tried to act surprised, event though she'd seen it coming. "Ryan's friend Nick?"

"Yeah, but I know there's no way he'll ever want to be with me," Emma said.

"That's what I said about Blaine at first and now look at us," Kurt said.

"I'm the biggest loser at Miramar!" Emma pouted. So Emma considered herself a loser. Someone else must have brought that opinion into their daughter's head...

"No daughter of Finn and Rachel Hudson is a loser," Kurt said.

"That's what you think," Emma sighed. "I'm going back with Sarah and Maddie, okay? Let us know when the food's ready."

"Something's up with her," Blaine said.

"If only we knew," Finn sighed.

"She's a good girl," Rachel said. "She's an excellent writer, she gets great grades. But she's missing that special someone, or at least a friend. I think she'd be much happier if she had a friend."

"There have to be SOME kids at Miramar who are friend worthy," Quinn said.

"So, who's this Nick boy?" Puck asked.

"He's Ryan's best friend," Finn said. "You met him at Nationals last year. He's really sweet. He comes from a family with similar economic status as ours. He doesn't have a mother though, she died when he was in elementary school. He has a younger brother. He's pretty similar to Ryan, an athlete and a musician. He's the smartest kid in their grade - he and Emma would be a good match."

x

After talking with her parents, Kurt, Blaine, Puck and Quinn that weekend, Emma decided that at school on Tuesday, she would try out for the show choir after school. She knew several of the kids in it from her classes. There was Ryan and Nick of course, and then three girls in her grade she had classes with named Emily, Anna and Ava. She didn't know them that well but they all seemed nice. Ryan said that the seventh graders in the choir were nice too, and that so far the sixth graders seemed like a good group of people.

Emma got to school "late" to avoid being hit by Dominique, Tiffany and Brianna in the hallway. During her lunch period, she went to the choir room to try out for show choir and sang Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" as her audition song. The director recognized her as Ryan's sister and Rachel's daughter, and told her that her voice was amazing. She got her schedule changed so she could be in choir as her second elective instead of the useless psychology class she was taking. All in all, she thought to herself, it had been a pretty good day.

She went to the bathroom right before the last class of the day to make sure no bruises were forming from the times she'd been shoved last week. Luckily, none were. She sighed with relief as she began to leave for her last class, but was stopped as she was leaving the bathroom.

"Didn't see you in psychology today," Brianna sneered.

"I got my schedule changed," Emma said.

"Oh, so you can avoid us?" Dominique sneered. "I have news for you, loser, we aren't going away."

Emma groaned as Tiffany punched her in the eye. Putting her hand over her eye, she began walking to her last class. Was there no hope for enjoying her last year of middle school?

_Chapter 4 Preview: Emma gets more involved with the show choir and things begin to get better. But the bullies take things too far and someone figures the situation out._


	4. Chapter 4: Blood

_Let's talk about how amazing Glee was last night, shall we? OH MY GOD! Finchel moments, Faberry friendship, Finn/ Sam/ Blaine friendship, Kurt standing up to Sebastian, amazing songs at Sectionals, winning Sectionals, the whole group coming back together again and that great celebration number that showed everyone being friends and included some cute Finchel moments. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. Season 3 has been perfection._

_For now, enjoy chapter 4 and review if you want me to continue! Thanks for all your nice comments, they mean the world to me._

Chapter 4: Blood

Thanks to joining the show choir, school was getting better. The kids in the show choir were all really nice. Ryan and Nick were in it, and so were three eighth grade girls named Emily, Anna and Ava. There were two seventh grade boys named Johnny and Cameron, three seventh grade girls named Amelia, Kelly and Naomi, and four sixth grade girls named Zoe, Tyler, Alicia and Kaitlyn.

The group was pulled out of regular classes twice a week to practice and they also had one after school rehearsal a week. Since you had to try out, the only kids who were in it were people who were really serious about it. Emma could now see why her parents, their high school friends, Ryan and Sarah enjoyed choir so much. She'd done challenge choir in elementary school, but had forgotten how much fun it could be. She probably hadn't thought to try out in middle school because Brianna, Tiffany and Dominique had basically tortured her from the start. On the first day of school, Dominique had smashed an egg on Emma's head.

The three girls had continued to torment her, but at least now she had something to look forward to when she went to school.

Emma was getting to be friendlier with the girls in her grade who were in the choir. The day after she joined, they invited her to sit with them at lunch, so for the first time since she started middle school, she wasn't alone. She was also becoming very close friends with Nick.

After two weeks of practicing, the teacher in charge of the choir, Mrs. Watkins, gave them their first song to sing as a group. She'd chosen Nick to be the male lead and Emma to be the female lead. Emma was surprised to already have gotten a lead in a song, but as she'd been reminded, she was Rachel Hudson's daughter. Her mom had gotten offers to be on Broadway.

As they left class the day after they first ran through the song, Nick grabbed Emma's arm. "You're really good."

Emma smiled at Nick. "You're really good, too. I'm glad you got the male lead."

"Our voices sound pretty good together, don't you think?" Nick asked.

"They do!" Emma said. "My parents always did duets together in high school and they sound great together. I should have you over sometime to listen to their duets. That can help us out."

"That would be awesome!" Nick said. "Ryan's showed me pictures from when they were in high school and in New Directions. They won Nationals their senior year, he told me. I guess it only makes sense that you and Ryan and Sarah are so good."

"It's in our blood, what can I say?" Emma laughed.

Nick smiled at her. "I'm glad we've gotten to know each other better."

"Me too," Emma said. "See you around." She went to her locker to get her stuff for her next class, but needed to stop in the bathroom before she went to her locker. The bell rang for the next period of the day while she was in the bathroom, so she hurried to her locker, only to find Dominique, Tiffany and Brianna standing there.

"What are you three doing here?" Emma snapped. "You know, the bell already rang. You SHOULD be in class. Or are you too busy bullying people to be in class?"

"Looks like the freak thinks she's more powerful," said Dominique.

"You think you can avoid us now, huh?" Brianna sneered. "Now that you're friends with the board member's son and the vocal music kids."

"Just stop," Emma said, shaking her head. "You've taken this too far."

"If you think we've been bad, just wait!" said Tiffany.

"Are you trying to make me feel threatened?" Emma asked, trying to sound like she didn't feel threatened.

Dominique just got an evil smile and pushed Emma down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Emma heard the three girls laugh and walk away. She put her hand to her mouth, realizing that her lip was bleeding. She didn't want to go back to class just yet. Right now, she just wanted to sit at the bottom of the stairs and cry.

"Emma?" Emma looked up to see Ava standing there. "What happened to you?"

Emma just struggled to let it out. "They - I fell down the stairs!" She had to let it out to someone.

Ava sat next to Emma. "Let me guess - it was Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany."

Emma nodded and continued sobbing.

Ava put her arm around Emma. "They used to torment me in elementary school. In fourth grade they pushed me off some equipment on the playground and I broke my wrist."

"Did you ever tell anyone?" Emma asked.

"They told me if I told anyone they'd hurt me even more," Ava said.

"Ava, I can't take this anymore!" Emma sobbed. "I haven't gone a single day since the first day of middle school without them doing SOMETHING or other to me."

"I'm guessing you haven't told anyone either?" Ava asked.

Emma shook her head. "They said the same thing to me that they said to you."

Ava gave Emma a hug. "Come on, let's go to the nurse and get your lip looked at. Want me to get your brother?"

"Can you just come with me?" Emma asked.

"Of course," Ava said. "Let's go. You know, you REALLY should tell someone, Emma. I was afraid to and they didn't stop. They stopped with me but then they started with you. If you want, I can go with you when you tell the school counselor or your parents."

"Thanks Ava," Emma said. She was feeling dizzy as they began walking to the nurse's office and paused from walking.

"What's wrong?" Ava asked.

"I'm feeling a little dizzy," Emma said. "I hit my head on the floor..."

"Okay, you DEFINITELY need to see the nurse," Ava said, leading Emma to the nurse's office. The two girls went to the nurse's office and went in. Nick was there.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"I had to take my meds," Nick said. He looked up and saw Emma's bleeding lip. "Oh my God!"

Emma took a seat as the nurse came out after Ava talked to her. "Okay, Nick, you can go now," the nurse said. "Emma, let me take a look."

"He's staying," Emma said, grabbing Nick's arm.

"You'll be okay with Nick?" Ava asked.

"Yeah, thanks Ava," Emma said.

"No problem," Ava said before leaving. "Just let me know if you need my help with that thing we talked about."

"You okay?" Nick whispered to Emma.  
>"I'll be fine," Emma said.<p>

"Emma, what happened to you?" the nurse asked.

"I fell down the stairs and hit my head," Emma said. "I'm feeling really dizzy and my lip's bleeding."

The nurse looked at Emma's lip. "You won't be needing stitches, but let me get you a bandage." She picked up a flashlight. "Follow the light with your eyes."

Emma followed the light.

"When's your birthday, Emma?" the nurse asked.

"April 16."

"What month is it?"

"September."

"What city are we in?"

"University Heights, and 2 times 3 is six and the capitol of Ohio is Columbus and the president of the school board is Nick's dad."

"I don't think you have a concussion, but you should at least lie down," the nurse said.

Nick looked at Emma. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Emma said, close to tears.

Nick put his arms around Emma. "You'll be okay, I promise."

The nurse came back. "Emma, if you're dizzy, I want you to go lie down on the cot and I'll call your parents to take you home. Do you want Nick to stay with you?"

"Yes please," Emma said.

"Okay, go lie down in the back room where there's cots. Nick, you can go sit with her. I'll call your teachers to tell them you're here," the nurse said.

Emma and Nick began heading for the room with the cots. Emma just lay on the cot and took Nick's hand, starting to cry.

"What is it?" Nick asked.

"I don't want to talk about it, Nick," Emma sobbed. "Just stay with me."

"Of course I will," Nick said. "But whatever's upsetting you so much, I hope you can tell SOMEONE eventually."

"I will," Emma said. She squeezed Nick's hand tighter. Having him here made her feel safer.

The nurse came back in. "Emma, your mom's on her way."

"She'll be okay, right?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, she'll be fine," the nurse said.

Emma just lay there. She decided she needed to tell her parents tonight about what was happening.

Ten minutes later Emma looked up to see her mom and her youngest brother waiting there. "Mom?" Emma said.

"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner honey," Rachel whispered. "I had to get Grant from day care."

"Mommy." Emma began sobbing and put her arms around her mother.

"Oh honey," Rachel whispered. She looked up and saw Nick sitting at her daughter's bedside. "Thank you for waiting with her, Nick."

"No problem," Nick said. "I'd better get back to class. See you around, Emma. After soccer today, I'll come back to your house with Ryan and check on you, okay?"

"Thanks, Nick," Emma said with a smile.

Rachel led Emma to the car. "Now, Emma, I know you're a teenager and you don't like to tell your dad and me everything, but I want to let you know that when you're ready to tell us, we're ready to listen, okay?"

"Okay," Emma said. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, sweetie," Rachel said. "Why don't you lie down when we get home, okay?"

"Okay," Emma said. She went to her room to lie down when they got home and fell asleep.

That evening after dinner, Ryan and Sarah were doing homework and Grant went to bed. Emma decided that now would be a good time to tell her parents. She went downstairs, where Finn and Rachel were in the living room, and took a deep breath. "Mom, Dad, there's something I need to tell you."

_Chapter 5 preview: Emma finally tells Finn and Rachel about what's been going on. What will happen at school?_


	5. Chapter 5: Telling the Truth

_Thanks for all your support and reviews! I appreciate it. Hope you enjoy Chapter 5 - please review if you want me to continue._

Chapter 5: Telling the Truth

"Mom, Dad, there's something I need to tell you."

Finn looked at Rachel. They'd had questions for two years. Maybe now they'd finally get answers.

"I'm sorry," Emma began. "I haven't been totally honest these past two years. School hasn't been fine, it's been terrible."

Finn looked at Rachel, who was already getting tears in her eyes. They wanted nothing but happiness for their children, but now their fears had been confirmed.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked.

"There's some kids at my school who've been bullying me," Emma said. "And I don't mean teasing. They've been bullying me. They call me names, make fun of my clothes, shove me into lockers, throw things at me and have even stolen my homework."

"What?" Rachel gasped. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since the beginning of sixth grade," Emma said, staring at the ground. "It hasn't gotten any better. It's not just that. You noticed my black eye last week? I got it when one of the girls punched me." She slightly rolled up her capris, revealing some bruises on her legs, then held out her arms to show the bruises there. "These come from punching and pushing and kicking."

"Oh God," Finn said. He had no idea what to say.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Emma said. "I was scared to…. There's been a lot in our family over the last few years, and I didn't want to make things harder for you."

"Of course we aren't mad at you. It's hard to tell the truth when you're getting bullied," Finn said. "I'm glad you could come to us."

"It's not okay," Emma sobbed. Finn's heart was beginning to hurt. "I should have told you earlier. The girls threatened to hurt me if I told anyone."

"Who are these girls?" Rachel asked.

"Brianna Chandler, Tiffany King and Dominique Washington," Emma said.

"I'm calling the school tomorrow and telling them," Finn said. His own daughter was going through an even worse situation than the slushie facials at McKinley. "This situation can not be ignored."

"What if they hurt me more?" Emma asked. "That's what they said they'd do if I told anyone."

"We won't let them," Rachel said. "Come here darling."

Finn watched as Emma went to Rachel and sat on her lap. Emma put her arms around Rachel, taking Finn's hand.

"We love you," Finn whispered.

"I love you too," Emma said.

Finn looked at Rachel, making sure she agreed with what he said, but hoping that she'd agree. "Your mom and I are going to go to the school tomorrow to talk to the principal and your counselor."

"Thanks," Emma whispered.

Rachel looked at Finn. "And Emma, you don't have to go to school tomorrow. Or until we get this sorted out."

"I don't want to," Emma said.

"We won't make you," Finn said. "Not until things are cleared up."

"Thank you," Emma whispered.

"Is your lip okay?" Rachel asked.

"It's fine," Emma said. "It could have been worse. One of the other girls at school figured out what was going on and said they used to do this to her and they broke her wrist in fourth grade. They told her the same thing they told me."

"That's awful," Finn said, feeling heartbroken at how his daughter's middle school experience was going.

"It feels at times like every day is a nightmare," Emma said. "I don't feel like I'm going to school, it's like I'm going to a war zone. I'm more worried about how to avoid the bullies than my academic studies."  
>"We'll fix this for you, I promise," Finn said.<p>

"Thanks," Emma said. "Can I go upstairs?"

"Of course," Rachel said.

When Emma left the room, Finn grabbed Rachel's hand. "Our little girl – our poor little girl."

"I wanted our kids to be happy," Rachel whispered. "Finn, why? First Jack dies, now Emma's getting bullied."

"At least she told us, Rach," Finn said as he leaned on Rachel's lap.

"I guess you're right about that," Finn said.

Rachel began rubbing Finn's back. "We're going in there tomorrow. If we didn't work in the school district, I'd threaten to sue."

"If these things continue after we go in, I'm threatening to call the police," Finn said. "Even if it costs us our jobs, our daughter's well-being is more important."

Rachel weaved her hands into Finn's hair, something that felt really good. "We won't lose our jobs."

Finn squeezed Rachel's hand. "Why?"

"I don't know," Rachel sighed. "I really don't."

X

Finn and Rachel called their respective schools the next morning, saying they wouldn't be in. After dropping Sarah at Cambridge and Ryan in the boys' hall at Miramar, Finn and Rachel went straight to the office. Finn just went straight to the secretarial table. "I'm Finn Hudson. This is my wife Rachel. We need to speak to the principal and the eighth grade counselor about our daughter Emma Hudson immediately."

"Can it wait?" the secretary asked.

"No, it's urgent," Rachel demanded.

The secretary sighed. "Okay." She turned on the message machine. "Dr. Reade, I have the parents of Emma Hudson, saying that they need to see you and the eighth grade counselor immediately."

A few minutes later, the principal, Dr. Reade, came out with the eighth grade counselor, Ms. Cooper. "Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, we're ready for you," Dr. Reade said.

"I must say, I don't know why you're here," Dr. Reade said once they were in the office. "I never have any problems with either of your children. Ryan's one of the best students, musicians and athletes in the school, and he's very active. I don't know as much about Emma, but I know she gets great grades and she's a fantastic writer."

"I'll tell you why we're here," Finn said, trying to hold in his anger. "Emma's been getting bullied since sixth grade by three students named Dominique Washington, Tiffany King and Brianna Chandler."

"Just yesterday she was sent to the nurse's office because they pushed her down the stairs and she hit her head and her lip was bleeding," Rachel said. "She's been afraid to tell anyone because they threatened to hurt her more if she told anyone."

"What?" Ms. Cooper said. "We haven't heard about this."  
>"Apparently the girls have been doing it out of sight of others," Finn said. "She's terrified to come to school every day. She was afraid to tell us because the girls were saying that if anyone found out, they'd hurt her more, and because she didn't want to upset us. Yesterday it reached a breaking point and another student revealed she had the same issues in elementary school."<p>

"Are any other students aware of this?" Ms. Cooper asked.

"The student who found her bleeding yesterday," Rachel said. "As is our son."

"We'll need to bring Ryan down here to talk to him then," Dr. Reade said. "We'll also need to talk to the girl who found her yesterday. Who was that?"

"Ava Crispin," Rachel said.

"Okay, we'll get the other students and talk to them," Ms. Cooper said. "Then we'll bring down the bullies."

"Thank you," Rachel said.

Five minutes later, Ryan came down to the principal's office. He jumped back when he saw his parents there. "Sit down, Ryan," Dr. Reade said.

"What happened?" Ryan asked.

"We're talking about your sister," Ms. Cooper said. "You're not in trouble."

"Just tell them what you told us last night when we told you about the situation," Finn said.

"Well, I wasn't surprised when my parents told me what they told me last night," Ryan said. "I noticed a change in Emma when we got to middle school. She was really social in elementary school but now she's been withdrawn. During the last few weeks in particular, she'd ask to stick with me in the boys' hallway. I kept pushing her to join some of my extracurriculars but she didn't want to be around the people at school. I was worried. I was upset yesterday when I found out, but I wasn't surprised and those girls seem like the type who'd do it."

"Thank you, Ryan," Ms. Cooper said. "You can go back to class now."

Ryan came over to his parents. "Do you think everything will be okay?"

"I'm sure it will," Finn whispered. "Don't worry."

Ryan gave Finn a hug. Finn sighed as he wrapped his arms around his son. It wasn't every day that his thirteen-year-old embraced him but he chose not to comment. Ryan then gave Rachel a hug and left the office as Ava came in and told the principal and school counselor about how she recognized the looks on Emma's face when she ran into Emma in the hall. How she'd seen Dominique, Tiffany and Brianna prancing by. How upset Emma was. When Ava left the office, the principal told Finn and Rachel they didn't have to stay when she brought Dominique, Tiffany and Brianna down.

Finn and Rachel decided to wait in the vestibule while the three girls went in there. Finn couldn't bear to face the girls who'd been so awful to his daughter. Rachel grabbed Finn's hand as the three girls went in. These were the girls who'd been ruining their daughter's life for two years.

X

Emma took advantage of her parents letting her stay home from school. She didn't want to have to see the girls who'd been so awful to her. Since her parents were taking the day off of work, Grant stayed home with Emma. Emma watched cartoons with her little brother, jealous of the simple world he lived in. He didn't know anything about bullying or death or any of those topics she was an expert on.

At around lunchtime, the door unlocked and Finn and Rachel came in. "Emma, they got a ten day suspension," Finn said.

"Suspension?" Emma said.

"They can't expel them without a suspension first," Rachel said. "But you don't have to see them for ten days, baby."  
>Emma crawled on to her mom's lap on the couch, handing Grant to her dad. "I wish I'd never have to see them again," Emma whispered.<p>

"We'll see what happens," Finn said. "But this IS something."

Emma snuggled up to her mom. "They were so horrible."

"I know honey," Rachel said. "Hopefully this will be a wakeup call for them."

"At least I don't have to be scared to go to school tomorrow," Emma said. "Or for the next ten days."

"That's right," Rachel said. "We love you and we'll do whatever it takes to protect you."

"I know," Emma said.

"Even after they come back, if they bother you again, come straight to us and we'll go right back to the school," Finn said.

"I will," Emma said. Now she wondered why she'd waited so long to tell her parents to begin with. Now the situation was better, for ten days at least. "Thank you."

"Like we've told you, you can always come to us," Finn said.

"I know," Emma said with a smile.

Rachel looked at the clock. "I've got to go pick up Sarah. You'll be okay by yourself, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Emma said, going up to her room. "Besides, Dad and Grant are home."

After a little bit of time in her room writing, Emma heard a knock on her door. She looked up and was surprised to see who it was. "Nick?"

"Hey Emma, can I come in?" Nick said.

"Of course," Emma said.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked. Nick didn't know about the bullying. Emma had made Ryan and Ava promise not to tell him.

"Yeah, my parents just let me take a day off after falling down the stairs," Emma said.

"We missed you in show choir today," Nick said.

"I missed you too," Emma said.

"I checked with your dad and he said we could watch those DVDs of him and your mom and their duets to help us," Nick said. "What do you say?"

"That would be great," Emma said. "Let's go downstairs."

Emma led Nick downstairs and popped a DVD into the DVD player of all the duet performances from high school that Finn and Rachel had done. As they watched the DVD, she pictured herself doing these duets with Nick. She leaned up against him and was pleasantly surprised when he didn't push her away. She felt safe when she was with him and knew that for now, things were okay.

_Chapter 6 preview: What will happen when the bullies return to school?_


	6. Chapter 6: The Return

_Thanks for your reviews everyone. They mean a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It is a bit upsetting, but I promise everything will be okay in the end. It's a Finchel fic of course things will be happy at the end! Enjoy and review if I should keep going!_

Chapter 6: The Return

The ten days that Brianna, Dominique and Tiffany were suspended, school was actually pretty good. Emma was getting to know the kids in the show choir better and felt safe going from class to class. She also wasn't afraid to be eating in the cafeteria because she knew they wouldn't throw food at her. Unfortunately, the ten days went by too fast and the girls were back at school before long. Emma had to go get something from her locker the days they came back while in the middle of show choir, and when she went to her locker, the three girls were there.

"It's your fault," Tiffany snapped. "Now our permanent records will have a ten day suspension because of you being a tattletale!"

"Tattletale?" Emma said. "EXCUSE ME? WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? All you do is bully people."

"Oh stop it you bastard child," Dominique laughed.

"What did you just call me?" Emma asked.

"You ARE a bastard child," Dominique lectured. "You were born when your parents were still in college."  
>"Well, I may have been born when my parents were still in college, but at least I come from a stable home with two decent incomes and parents who love me and my brothers and sister and treat us well," Emma said. "Your parents must be pretty lousy for you to turn out like this. You aren't getting good grades and I don't see you in photos for any extracurricular activities either. All you do is bully people and waste time."<p>

"THAT'S IT!" Brianna shouted. "Emma Hudson, you are going down!"

"Leave me alone!" Emma shouted.

"GET OUT OF MY SCHOOL!" Tiffany shouted.

Emma began to leave when Dominique pushed her down the stairs. Before she had a chance to get up, she felt herself being kicked by the three girls. Already her wrist hurt so badly she didn't think she could move it.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Emma heard a voice shout. She felt the girls back off and looked up to see Mrs. Watkins, with the members of the show choir behind her.

"Oh my God!" Ryan said, running up to his sister. Emma just her arms around her brother, feeling ready to cry.

"It'll be okay," Ryan said. "Your brother has you."

"These girls have been bullying her for two years," Ava blurted out. "If anyone's noticed her bruises, she got them from getting kicked and punched by them."

Emma made eye contact with Nick. Nick gave her a look of shock.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU GO NEAR HER?" Nick shouted.

"Nick, please let the administration handle this," Mrs. Watkins said.

"What they do to her is not right!" Nick said.

By now Emma was crying and holding on to her brother as tight as she could. It hurt her wrist to hold on tight.

"She's bleeding," Nick said. "Look at her forehead. It's even worse than her lip was a few weeks ago."

Ava ran to her backpack and got out a cloth napkin. "Here, Emma. Hold this on."

"Thanks, Ava," Emma whispered.

"Being suspended wasn't enough of a lesson for you girls," Mrs. Watkins said to Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany. "Well, now we'll need to fix things. You've been seen now."

A security monitor walked by. Mrs. Watkins made a signal to him. "Please take these three girls to the principals office."

"What's going to happen?" Ryan blurted out. "They hurt my sister and that is NOT okay!"

"Ryan, please just take your sister to the nurse," Mrs. Watkins said. "The rest of you, please go back to your regular classes. I'm going to have to go talk to Dr. Reade about this."

Emma began walking down the hall to the nurse's office with her brother. Her wrist still felt horrible, almost as if it was starting to swell up. With her other arm, she was holding the cloth napkin Ava had given her to her forehead. She could feel the blood leaking on to her hand.

"I'm scared," Emma told her brother.

"I'm sorry," Ryan said. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I'm sorry I let them hurt you. I'm your brother."

"You didn't know," Emma said. "Not until two weeks ago."

"I should have been able to figure it out," Ryan said.

"Don't worry," Emma said as they entered the nurse's office. As they began to enter, they turned to see Nick and Ava running after them. "Can we come in with you?" Ava asked.

Emma nodded. "Of course."

"I'm sorry," Nick whispered, hugging Emma. "I've gotten to know you and I knew something was up..."

"Everyone needs to stop blaming themselves," Emma said.

The nurse came out. "What happened?"

"Three girls have been bullying my sister," Ryan said. "She's got a bad cut on her forehead and she hurt her wrist..."

"Come on in," the nurse said. She seemed to know how upset Emma was. "You three can sit with her."

The nurse looked at Emma's forehead and her wrist. Nick nudged the nurse and asked in a panicky voice, "Is she going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine, but I think we need to call an ambulance," the nurse said. "Her wrist could be broken or sprained, it looks pretty bad. And I think she might need stitches in her forehead."

"Call an ambulance?" Emma asked. "But can't my parents just come and drive me to the hospital?"

"We'll have them meet you at the hospital," the nurse said. "I think you need to be taken by ambulance. Your brother and your friends can come on the ambulance with you if it makes you more comfortable."

"I'd like that," Emma whispered.

"I'm going to call an ambulance," the nurse said. "Emma, Ryan, I'll call your parents and tell them to meet you at the hospital. Nick and Ava, I'll call your parents too and tell them what's going on. I'll also contact your teachers and tell them to not punish you for missing the rest of your classes today."

"It hurts so much," Emma whimpered. "I just want the pain to stop."  
>"It will, Emma," Ava said, taking Emma's other hand. Emma was still in her brother's arms, with Nick rubbing her back.<p>

Five minutes later three EMTs came into the nurse's office with a stretcher. Emma gulped as she was lifted on to the stretcher and pulled through the hallway, with Ryan, Nick and Ava following close behind. Many students went into the halls and looked, which was embarrassing.

"You'll be okay," Nick whispered in Emma's ear.

"You think so?" Emma asked.

"I know so," Nick said.

"I never want to have to see them again!" Emma sobbed.

"With everything they did to you, I'll be surprised if they aren't expelled," Ryan said.

The ambulance took off for the hospital. Emma was terrified and hurt, but having her brother and her friends with her made her feel somewhat better.

x

Meanwhile, Rachel was in the middle of a rehearsal with the high school kids for this year's musical when one of the secretaries came running in. "Mrs. Hudson, someone from your kids' school is on the phone. There's been an emergency..."

Rachel froze. Today was the day the bullies came back from their suspension. What had happened?

Rachel turned to her assistant. "Can you work with the kids?"

"Of course," her assistant said.

Rachel sprinted to the office and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Hudson?"

"Yes?"

"This is Ms. Cooper, the eighth grade counselor from Miramar. There's been an emergency. We need you to get down to the Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital ER immediately."

Rachel dropped the phone and ran to her car. She was pretty sure she was driving a little above the speed limit, but it didn't bother her. The bullies had just come back to school today and already Emma was in the emergency room?

She arrived at the emergency room. She was all to familiar with Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. They'd spent countless hours here, and many nights, when Jack was fighting his cancer. She made a short prayer to Jack to watch over Emma today.

Rachel started to head for the door when she saw Finn heading towards her. "Do you have any idea what happened?" she asked him.

Finn shook his head. "They just said it was an emergency and we needed to get down here immediately."

"Our poor daughter," Rachel sighed. She felt ready to cry, but she knew she couldn't upset Emma. She held Finn's hand as they went to the reception desk. "We're here for our daughter, Emma Hudson," Rachel said, getting out her ID card.

"Your daughter is in Room 125," the receptionist said.

"Thank you," Finn said as they began sprinting to Room 125. Emma was sitting in the bed with Ryan, Nick and Ava at her bedside. Rachel was in shock. The school had sent four teenagers in an ambulance by themselves? What type of school was this? They knew Miramar wasn't the top rate middle school, but it let bullying go unnoticed for so long and they sent kids in an ambulance alone...

"What happened?" Finn asked.

"Those girls pushed Emma down the stairs again," Ava said. "As you can see she's bleeding really bad on her forehead, she might need stitches. They think her wrist is badly sprained..."

Rachel couldn't think anymore. She ran to her daughter's bedside and sat next to her. "Oh no! I'm just glad they saw you before anything else could happen! I lost one child. I can't lose another."

Finn looked at the other kids. "Thanks for coming with her."

The doctor came back in and looked at Finn and Rachel. "You're Emma's parents?"

"Yes," Finn said.

"Okay, I think Emma's going to need stitches, her cut's pretty deep," the doctor said. "The x-rays don't look like her wrist is broken, just a sprain. She has a mild concussion, but she's going to be okay."

Finn looked at Emma. "What did they do to you?"

"Finn honey, look at her, she's terrified," Rachel said. "Just give her some time to cool down before we talk about what happened."

Emma grabbed Rachel's hand. Rachel held her oldest daughter close. "Mom, when can I go home?" Emma asked.

"We'll see what the hospital says," Rachel said.

"I think I have the best brother and the best friends ever," Emma said. "They rode on the ambulance with me."

"I'm sorry," Ryan said. "I should have watched her more at school. Mom, Dad, I hope you're not mad at me."

"Of course we aren't," Finn said.

"No one would want anything bad to happen to her," Nick said.

"Thank you," Rachel said.

"Do you want me to ask my dad to bring Sarah and Grant down here?" Nick asked.

"I'm sure Sarah would be really worried if she found out her sister was in the hospital and couldn't be here," Finn said. "That would be great. And Grant should come down too."

"I'll be okay, right?" Emma said to Rachel.

Rachel looked at her daughter and saw the fear in her face. She knew right now she needed to give her daughter what she hadn't had for the first sixteen years of her life - a mother's love. "You'll be okay, I know it," Rachel said.

She looked over at Finn and held his hand. Even now, she still needed him for comfort.

_Chapter 7 preview: Emma's recovery begins. Finchel and Nick/ Emma moments. Emma has to make an important decision._


	7. Chapter 7: Bonding

__I hope everyone's enjoying the story. This has been one of my favorites I've written, and this is my favorite chapter so far. I hope you enjoy it. Please review if you want me to continue!__

Chapter 7: Bonding

A few hours had passed, but for Finn and Rachel, it felt like a lot longer. Once again, one of their children was in the hospital. Emma didn't have cancer like Jack had, but this was upsetting nonetheless. Her forehead had been stitched up, but after the stitches came out the scar would fade. Her wrist had been bandaged, but in a few weeks the bandage would come off.

What wouldn't go away was the trauma that had been their daughter's middle school experience. Rachel felt like a total idiot. How could she not have figured this out earlier? Likely, Emma would be coming home tonight, but the doctors wanted to watch her, as head wounds could be serious.

About an hour ago, Nick's dad had brought Sarah and Grant to the hospital. Emma was asleep by the time Sarah and Grant got to the hospital. When they'd arrived, Sarah was crying, saying she didn't want to have to go through what they'd gone through with Jack again. Rachel had done her best to explain the situation to Sarah, who had calmed down, but was still pretty upset. The sisters had been having their ups and downs lately, but ultimately they still loved each other. Rachel had just told Grant that some mean girls at school had hurt Emma and she needed to be seen by doctors. She wasn't ready to explain bullying to Grant just yet.

The hospital room was pretty big, enough room for lots of people. Emma had fallen asleep, but was still surrounded by her siblings and friends. Ryan was sitting at the edge of the bed with Grant on his lap. Nick was close to Emma, gripping her hand. Sarah and Ava sat on the other side of the bed.

Finn nudged Rachel. "They seem to be taking good care of her, want to take a walk?"

Rachel nodded and kissed Finn.

Finn tapped Ryan's shoulder. "Your mom and I are going to step outside. You guys will be fine in here alone for a little, right?"

"Of course," Ryan said.

"Do you think she's okay?" Nick asked. "I mean, she's just conked out."

"She'll be fine," Rachel said. "She told her dad and me she hasn't gotten much sleep lately because she's been so stressed about everything. I think she just needs to catch up."

"We'll take care of her, don't worry," Ava said.

Rachel smiled at the group. "Thanks." She took Finn's hand and went into the hall.

"I can't believe we let this happen," Rachel sobbed.

"Rach, this is not your fault," Finn said. "We have no control over what happens at the school."

"I still feel terrible," Rachel said. "I just don't want this to keep happening."

"I'll be surprised if the bullies aren't expelled," Finn said. "Anything that makes a student end up in the hospital is taking it too far."

"I thought getting hit by slushies was the worst form of bullying when we were in high school," Rachel said. "That's nothing compared to what those girls did to Emma."

"She'll be fine," Finn said, putting his arms around Rachel. "She's a Hudson. She's a fighter."

Rachel kissed Finn. "I love you."

Finn kissed back. "I love you too."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Rachel sighed.

"We'll make sure everything works out for her," Finn said.

"I'm afraid to send her back there," Rachel said. "Even if the bullies get expelled, it would be too hard for me to go back there after everything."

"Once she's had some time, we can talk to her about what she wants to do," Finn said. His phone went off.

"Who is that?" Rachel asked.

"I asked my parents to come up and stay home with Ryan, Sarah and Grant tonight in case we have to be at the hospital too late," Finn said. "They're here."

"Maybe they can take Nick and Ava home too," Rachel said.

"We'll see," Finn said. "Either way, I think we need to get all these kids home. Hospitals are upsetting for kids – and Ryan and Sarah have spent enough time in hospitals already."

Finn looked up to see his fifteen-year-old sister Ally walking down the hallway. "Hey Ally," Finn said.

"Hey Finn," Ally said. "Mom and Dad were having trouble getting a parking space, so they sent me in to get the kids.

"Two of their friends from school are here, too," Finn said. "Do you think one of our parents would mind using my car to take them home?"  
>"I'm sure they wouldn't," Ally said. "Could I step in the room?"<p>

"Of course," Rachel said. Even though Ally was the kids' aunt, she had more of a cousin relationship with them. She was only two years older than Ryan and Emma. It was the same way with Rachel's sixteen-year-old sister Beth.

Finn and Rachel led Ally into the hospital room. Grant saw Ally and perked up. "ALLY!"

"Hey Grant," Ally said, taking Grant into her arms. "I came with Grandma and Grandpa, how about we go home now?"

"What about Emma?" Ryan asked.

"She'll be fine," Finn said. "Your mom and I will be with her."

"Call us if anything changes," Ryan said.

"We will," Rachel said. "Ally, you remember Ryan's friend Nick, right?"  
>"Of course," Ally said. "Hey Nick. I didn't see you there."<p>

"Hey Ally," Nick said.

"And this is Emma's friend Ava," Rachel said. "They came to see Emma."

"We'll give you guys rides home, too," Ally said.

"Are you sure?" Ava said. "My mom could come get me."

"We're more than sure," Finn said. "I'll call your parents."

"Just keep me posted, okay?" Nick said.

"We will," Rachel said. "If there's anything noteworthy, I'll have Ryan text you two."

"Thanks, Mrs. Hudson," Ava said.

"Don't call us Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, call us Finn and Rachel," Finn said. He handed Ryan his car keys. "Give these to Grandma and Grandpa so one of them can use my car to take Nick and Ava home."

Sarah gave her sister a hug. "Wake up soon. I love you Emma."

Ryan gave her a hug too. "Feel better twin sister. I love you."

Nick and Ava both also hugged Emma before leaving with Ally. Rachel gripped Finn's hand as they sat next to the bed. She sighed with relief as she felt her daughter moving and saw her rolling around.

Emma opened her eyes. "Mom?"

"Baby," Rachel said, giving Emma a hug. "How are you feeling?"

"I needed that sleep," Emma said.

"How's your wrist?" Finn asked.

"It feels better," Emma said. "So does my head."

"We were so worried," Finn whispered.

"It's not like I was going to die," Emma said, looking around the room. "Where did Ryan, Nick and Ava go?"

"They went home, sweetie, it's been hours," Rachel said. "Sarah and Grant were here too, but you were asleep while they were here."

"So Ryan, Sarah and Grant are home all alone?" Emma asked, almost looking horrified.

"No, Grandma Carole and Grandpa Burt came in," Finn said. "And so did Ally. They're with them at home."

"When can I go home?" Emma asked.

"We'll see what your doctor says," Rachel said. "I'm just glad you're okay." She and Finn took their daughter into their arms, while also holding each other's hands. She didn't want to let Emma go.

X

Emma's doctor had wanted to keep her overnight. She didn't think that was necessary, but the doctor said that head wounds needed to be watched carefully, and she had had both a concussion and stitches in her forehead. Her parents had both stayed overnight with her and now they were on their way home. They'd told her she didn't have to go to school today, and they were letting her siblings miss school today too.

"Mom, Dad, what happened to Dominique, Tiffany and Brianna, do we know?" Emma asked. "Will I EVER have to see them again?"

Rachel sighed and looked at Finn. "Nick told Ryan that his dad told him they got a four-week suspension. We don't know anything about expulsion."

"I never want to have to see them again!" Emma protested in. "Why didn't they get expelled?"

"It's in the board's hands, Emma," Finn said. "Try not to think about them now. There's at least a month before they're allowed back there, if ever."

"I'm afraid of that place," Emma said. "Even when they're not there, the first thing I think of is them. It's so hard to go there every day, the site of the greatest pain in my life. I don't know if I can wait until next year to leave Miramar."

"Just try to relax today," Rachel said. "You've been injured, you need a few days off."

Emma had never been happier to see her house. She began walking in to be greeted by Sarah and Ally in the kitchen. Sarah and Ally ran up to her and gave her hugs.

"Hey guys," Emma said.

"Sarah and I made brownies for you," Ally said. Emma smiled. Since they were so close in age, Ally was really more like an older sister than an aunt.

"Thanks guys," Emma said. "So Sarah, you're taking today off too?"  
>"Yeah," Sarah said. "Grandma and Grandpa said that after being in a hospital AGAIN so soon, Ryan and I should just take the day off."<p>

"I'm sorry you guys were back in a hospital again so soon," Emma said.

"Don't be, it's the fault of those bitches at your school," Ally said.

"ALLY! Do not talk that way with your nieces," Carole scolded.

"We hear all that and more at school," Emma said. "Where are the boys?"

"They're upstairs," Burt said. "Ryan's trying to teach Grant how to play on his xbox."

"That boy!" Rachel said. "We leave them alone for a night and Ryan tries to get his brother the same addiction he has."

"Don't let it bother you honey," Finn said.

"Of course it doesn't bother you, you're the one who got Ryan into xbox in the first place," Rachel said.

"I must say, they should come down and say hi to Emma," Finn said.

"That's right," Ally said. "Before Emma, Sarah and I watch a girl movie together."

"Be glad you're getting the day off of school, Ally," Burt said.

Ryan and Grant came downstairs. "EMMA!" Grant shouted, jumping into his oldest sister's arms.

"Be careful, Grant, she sprained her wrist," Ryan said, hugging Emma. "How are you feeling? I've been getting texts from the whole show choir asking how you are."

"It doesn't hurt as much," Emma said.

"That's a good thing," Ryan said. "Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?"

"Okay, I promise," Emma said, sitting on the couch with Ally and Sarah, eating the brownies as Sarah started the DVD. She knew at that moment that she had the best family ever.

X

After school that day, Emma was making bracelets with Sarah and Ally when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. Ally went to the door and opened it. Emma looked up and saw Ava. "Hey Ava!" Emma said, hugging her friend.

"I was worried about you," Ava said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm better," Emma said. "The mental affect is worse than the physical."

"I brought something for you," Ava said, getting a bracelet out of her purse. "I got matching ones for us at Target."

"Thanks Ava!" Emma said. "If you want, you can hang out with Ally and Sarah and me for a while."

"That would be fun," Ava said. "That's some pretty string you have for your bracelets."

"Ally knows some really cool patterns to make bracelets with," Sarah said.

"That's so cool," Ava said, sitting on Emma's bed with the girls.

Rachel came into the room. "I just wanted to check, Emma, want me to order Italian food for take out tonight?"  
>"Are you kidding?" Emma laughed. "You know I LOVE Italian food!"<br>"That's what I thought," Rachel said. "Ava, if you want and it's okay with your parents, you can stay for dinner."  
>Ava smiled. "I'd love that, thanks Rachel."<p>

X

After dinner, Ava went home and Burt, Carole and Ally began heading back to Lima so Ally could go back to school the next day. Ryan and Sarah were both getting started on homework they'd missed the previous day, but Emma was excused from homework. She was watching an Indians game on TV with her dad and Grant when her mom came in with Nick.

"Hey!" Emma said, getting up and hugging Nick.

"Sorry I couldn't come by earlier," Nick said. "We had a soccer game and without Ryan, I pretty much had to be there for us to have any hope of winning."

Emma laughed. "Arrogant much, Nick?"

"I scored the only goal!" Nick said. "But we still lost 3-1 to Roxbury."

"If my brother had been there, you would have won!" Emma laughed.

"Say that if you want, Emma!" Nick said. "How've you been feeling, anyway? I've been thinking about you."

"It's better," Emma said. "I'm honestly more worried about what's going to happen when they come back again."

"Well I'm not letting you out of my sight when they come back," Nick said.

"Thanks Nick," Emma said.

X

Finn and Rachel were in the kitchen when Nick's dad arrived. "Hi Finn. Hi Rachel. I'm here to pick up Nick but before then, there's something I'd like to talk to you two about. I talked to the other board members and we agreed that if you want, because of everything that's happened, we can grant Emma an emergency intradistrict transfer to Roxbury."

Finn and Rachel looked at each other. Maybe this was the solution.

"I think we'll talk to Emma after Nick leaves," Finn said.

"Well, like I said, everyone on the board agrees Emma deserves the transfer, and if she wants it, it will go into effect immediately," Nick's dad said.

"Thank you," Rachel said. "We'll talk to her."

X

When Nick left that night, Finn and Rachel came into the living room, where Emma was looking at the newspaper. "Can we talk, honey?" Finn asked.

"Sure," Emma said. "Just to tell you, I didn't do anything to provoke the bullying!"

"This isn't about that," Rachel said. "Nick's dad is the board president, you know that, right?"  
>"Of course," Emma said.<p>

"Well, we talked to him," Finn said. "He talked to the other board members and if you want, you can go to Roxbury for the rest of the year. You'd never have to see the bullies again."

Emma just began thinking. Going to Roxbury would mean getting away from the bullies for good, but she'd also have to leave Ava and Nick, and she'd spend less time with her brother… what would she do?

_Chapter 8 preview: Emma makes a decision, with the help of Nick, Ryan and Ava._


	8. Chapter 8: Decisions

_Well, can I say how much I loved this year's Christmas episode? SO much better than last year's. I know lots of people didn't like the B&W PBS part, but I thought it was awesome. And the Finchel scenes at the end were so sweet, as was Finchel in "All I Want For Christmas Is You." Rachel may have had bad moments at the beginning, but the end proved how great she (and Finchel) are._

_I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it. Thanks for the reviews - they mean a lot to me. Don't forget to review if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 8: Decisions

Emma tossed and turned in her bed that night. She'd been wanting to leave Miramar for two years, so why was she suddenly so reluctant to leave? Now she had an opportunity to what had proven to be the better middle school, the one with better test scores and a better reputation.

She thought about her brother. It may not have been difficult for Ryan at Miramar in the same way it had been difficult for her, but would it really be fair for her to leave the school that hadn't been the best place and leave him there? There was Ava, too. Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany had bullied her in elementary school, if Emma left, what if they started up again? Emma also didn't want to lose her friendship with Emma, it was the first time she was becoming close friends with a girl since after fifth grade, when Olivia moved to Iowa and Alyssa moved out of the school district. And of course, she'd had a crush on Nick since sixth grade. He was finally beginning to notice her. If she left Miramar, who knew what would happen?

The alarm clock went off and Ryan came into Emma's room. "Are you coming to school today?"

"Yeah, might as well enjoy it before the reign of terror returns," Emma said.

"You do have an opportunity for the 'reign of terror' to end for good," Ryan said. "What are you going to do?"

"So you know?" Emma asked.

Ryan picked up Emma's wrap for her wrist. "Yeah, Dad told me, let me wrap your wrist for you."

Emma sighed. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, I'd miss seeing you at school," Ryan said. "But maybe it would be better for you to go to Roxbury."  
>"That's not all," Emma admitted. "I am beginning to develop feelings for a boy at our school."<p>

"It's Nick, isn't it?" Ryan said.

"Yeah," Emma said. "How did you know?"

"I could tell by the way you were so attached to him," Ryan said. "You'd still get to see Nick. He's my best friend. He's always at our house."

"Would it really be fair for ME to go to Roxbury and you to have to stay at Miramar?"

"I'm not the one who was bullied. It would be totally fair for you to go to Roxbury."

x

"Are you sure you want to go to school today?" Finn asked Emma at breakfast.

"Yeah, it may help me with my decision," Emma said.

"Emma - we aren't going to tell you what to do," Finn said. "It's your life. Your mom and I want what's best for you and you know better than anyone what's best for you. Whatever you decide, we won't try to force you to choose the other option."

"It's a tough choice," Emma said. "I wouldn't know anyone at Roxbury..."

"Life is full of choices, Emma," Rachel said. "I know you'll make the right choice, but it will take some thinking."

x

Emma could barely focus in her classes at school. The transfer to Roxbury would go in effect as soon as she was ready, meaning she could start tomorrow if she wanted. She wasn't close with many people at Miramar, but this was the only middle school she'd known. Though she wasn't friends with them, she'd known lots of these kids since kindergarten. The kids at Roxbury would also have known each other since kindergarten. Would they have room for a new girl in their circles?

On the other hand, no one at Roxbury would know about the bullying. What Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany had done to her was common knowledge at Miramar by now, and multiple students were talking and looking at her in classes and in the halls. It was more than a little humiliating to be taken on a stretcher through the halls at her school. Students in the younger grades, who she didn't even know, had seen it.

Today was a day she got to be pulled out of class for show choir, and that was a good thing. People asked her how she was doing, but no one whispered or stared when they waited for Mrs. Watkins to arrive.

"We'd like to welcome back Ryan and Emma and say that we hope all is well," Mrs. Watkins said. "We're here if there's anything anyone can do. Now, to fill you in, this week's assignment is to sing a song to someone about something that's on your mind right now and a message you'd like to send to them. Does anyone have a song picked out yet?"

Nick raised his hand. "Mrs. Watkins, I think I found the perfect song, with the help of Ryan and his dad, and I'd like to dedicate it to Emma as she goes through this difficult time."

"Fantastic, Nick, let's hear it," Mrs. Watkins said.

Emma's heart skipped a beat as she listened to the song. Nick cared THIS much about her? It was so sweet. She'd been in love with him since sixth grade and now he was starting to pay attention to her. And he cared about her. He wanted the situation to get better, and he was here for her.

_Oh, why you look so sad? _

_Tears are in your eyes _

_Come on and come to me now _

_Don't be ashamed to cry _

_Let me see you through _

_'Cause I've seen the dark side too _

_When the night falls on you _

_You don't know what to do _

_Nothing you confess _

_Could make me love you less _

_I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you _

_Won't let nobody hurt you _

_I'll stand by you _

_So if you're mad, get mad _

_Don't hold it all inside _

_Come on and talk to me now _

_Hey, what you got to hide? _

_I get angry too _

_Well I'm a lot like you _

_When you're standing at the crossroads _

_Don't know which path to choose _

_Let me come along _

_'Cause even if you're wrong_

_I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you _

_Won't let nobody hurt you _

_I'll stand by you _

_Take me in into your darkest hour _

_And I'll never desert you _

_I'll stand by you _

_And when... _

_When the night falls on you, baby _

_You're feeling all alone _

_You won't be on your own _

_I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you _

_Won't let nobody hurt you _

_I'll stand by you _

_Take me in, into your darkest hour _

_And I'll never desert you _

_I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you _

_Won't let nobody hurt you _

_I'll stand by you _

_and I'll never desert youI'll stand by you, I'll stand by you _

_Won't let nobody hurt you _

_I'll stand by you _

After the song, Emma nudged her brother. "You and Dad helped him with that?"

"Yeah," Ryan whispered. "Dad said that he did this song in a similar situation in high school."

Emma went to Nick and gave him a hug. "Thanks Nick." It just killed her to think she may not be seeing him anymore soon.

"No problem," Nick said. "Don't worry, I won't let them hurt you again."

Emma gulped, trying to get the urge to tell him. "I don't know if I can keep going to school here."

Nick put his arm around Emma. "You CAN. I won't let you out of my sight."

x

Over at Roxbury, Finn kept an extra eye open, wondering if this would be a better fit for his daughter than Miramar. He didn't observe any bullying or exclusion in his classes, even asked one of his eighth grade classes if they'd be open to a new student, because he'd heard there might be a new student. They said they'd do their best to make the new student welcome.

During Finn's lunch period, he was grading papers when his door opened and Rachel came in. Finn smiled wide. "Rach!" It wasn't every day that his wife surprised him by coming to visit.

Rachel gave Finn a kiss. "How's your day going?"

"It's fine," Finn said. "I asked my morning eighth grade class if they'd be open to a new student and they said they would. I didn't say it was our daughter though."

"I've been looking through the halls. The kids here seem really nice," Rachel said. "So many students have just talked and waved at me, not recognizing me."

"It's her choice, but I think she'd be better off here," Finn said. "Change can be traumatic, especially when you're so young."

"I think part of it is that she doesn't want to leave Nick," Rachel said. "Even though they aren't in a relationship, I can see why. It's hard to leave the person you love, my time at Princeton was really hard."

"We'll see what she decides," Finn said. "I'm not going to try to force her to decide either way."

"You're so smart," Rachel said. "I'm so glad I married you."

Finn gave Rachel a kiss. "After all these years, I'm still madly in love with you."

"And I am with you," Rachel said.

x

After school, Emma was walking home from Ava, thinking about how she could have well spent her last day at Miramar. "Are you okay?" Ava asked. "You're being pretty quiet. Still upset about everything that happened?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "And I have some stuff on my mind."  
>"What's going on?" Ava asked.<p>

Emma took a deep breath and told Ava about the offer she'd gotten to switch to Roxbury, and how she was really tempted to go, but somehow, she didn't feel right leaving Miramar.

"I'd miss you a lot," Ava said. "But we could still see each other on weekends and after school, and there's always texting and e-mail and Facebook and all that."

"I'd really miss you," Emma said. "You're really the first friend I made at Miramar."

"We'd be back at the high school together next year anyway, and we can keep in touch," Ava said. "It's your life, Emma. If you don't feel safe at Miramar, I understand that you need to get out."

"The board said I can start whenever I want," Emma said. "They've already sent Roxbury my records."

"It's up to you," Ava said.

"But what about Nick?" Emma asked. "I think I love him."

"Like I said, it's your life," Ava said. "You can still keep in touch with Nick."

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Emma said, looking down.

The girls continued walking home in almost total silence. Emma walked inside to see her mom making something in the kitchen. "Hey Emma," Rachel said. "Can you help me out? Your little brother's hungry... and has decided he wants cookies."

"Of course I can," Emma said. "Mom - school was fine today. In choir Nick sang a song to me about standing by me - what's he going to think if I go to Roxbury? I just can't go back when the bullies do."

"If Nick really does care about you, he'll support you if you go to Roxbury," Rachel said.

"It's just - I'm thirteen and I've never had a boyfriend. Now there's a boy who might be a boyfriend and I'm leaving him," Emma said.

"I didn't have a boyfriend until I was sixteen," Rachel said. "Are you saying you want to go to Roxbury?"

"I do," Emma said. "I think that's what's best..."

"I'll call the board and let them know what you decided to do," Rachel said. "We'll need to get things sorted out, get you a schedule there."

"Okay," Emma said, going to her room to think. Maybe the right way to tell Nick she was leaving would be through a song. She turned on her computer and looked for a good song to use. Eventually, she found what she thought was the right one. She'd seen the movie it was from and thought it was a dumb movie, but the song was good for this moment.

She would go to Miramar one more day to clean out her locker. Her parents had e-mailed her teachers informing them of the switch, but asked not to publicize it. The day went quietly, it wasn't a bad day as the three girls were still on the suspension. She'd made Ryan promise not to tell anyone that she was leaving, but was pretty nervous about breaking the news in choir.

Today was a day they'd meet after school for choir. Emma raised her hand and said she had a song she wanted to sing for the assignment, but the whole time she was singing, she just looked at the floor.

_I gotta say what's on my mind_  
><em> Something about this<em>  
><em> doesn't seem right these days<em>  
><em> life keeps getting in the way<em>  
><em> Whenever I try somehow the plan<em>  
><em> is always rearranged<em>

_ It's so hard to say_  
><em> But I've gotta do what's best for me<em>  
><em> You'll be ok...<em>

_ I've got to move on and be who I am_  
><em> I just don't belong here<em>  
><em> I hope you understand<em>  
><em> We might find our place <em>  
><em> in this world someday<em>  
><em> But at least for now<em>  
><em> I gotta go my own way<em>

_ Don't wanna leave it all behind_  
><em> But I get my hopes up<em>  
><em> and I watch them fall everytime<em>  
><em> Another colour turns to grey<em>  
><em> and it's just too hard to watch it all<em>  
><em> slowly fade away<em>

_ I'm leaving today 'cause I've_  
><em> gotta do what's best for me<em>  
><em> you'll be ok...<em>

_ I've got to move on and be who I am_  
><em> I just don't belong here<em>  
><em> I hope you understand<em>  
><em> We might find our place in this<em>  
><em> world someday<em>  
><em> But at least for now<em>  
><em> I gotta go my own way<em>

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick asked.

"I'm leaving," Emma said, fighting back tears. "I'm going to Roxbury. Starting tomorrow."

Nick got a shocked look. "What?"

Emma burst into tears. "I'm sorry Nick. I'll miss you, but I just can't stay at a school where I don't feel safe." She bolted out of the room, leaving her crush of two years standing there in shock.

_Chapter 9: Emma starts at Roxbury. How will it go? Nick calls her and they talk about what this might mean for them_.


	9. Chapter 9: Two Different Worlds

_Wow, thanks so much for your positive reception to all my chapters so far. I appreciate it SO much. I try to make an effort to reply to each individual review, but I've been behind this week because of finals. Let me thank you all VERY much for everything._

_Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review if I should keep going :)_

Chapter 9: Two Different Worlds

"I'm leaving. I'm going to Roxbury. Starting tomorrow."

Those words that Emma had said in choir today kept replaying in Nick's mind. She was leaving? He couldn't believe it. She really felt unsafe to the point where she felt she couldn't stay at Miramar?

He knew he was developing feelings for her. But by now it may be too late to act on those feelings.

X

Emma woke up to the sound of her alarm clock, feeling more nervous than she'd felt since the first day of sixth grade. Today she would be starting a new school. A school where everyone had known each other since kindergarten and she didn't know anyone. But she'd wanted to leave Miramar. Maybe things would be better at Roxbury. Maybe.

Emma went downstairs. "Ready to become a Roxbury Rocket?" Finn asked.

Emma laughed. "Ready or not, I'm going to."

"We have your schedule here," Rachel said, handing Emma a printout. Emma looked at the schedule and then looked at Finn. "YES! I have you for writing for gifted students."  
>"Don't expect any special treatment," Finn laughed. "As you can see on your schedule, I'm in Room 225. You can come to my room any time if you need me."<p>

"Thanks Dad," Emma said. "I'll be fine, I think."

"You said you were fine for over two years at Miramar and you weren't," Rachel pointed out.

"Mom, don't worry," Emma said. "Everything will be okay."

"I'm worried about my little girl," Rachel sighed.

"Mom, don't worry!" Emma laughed.

X

Emma sat in the front seat of her Dad's car as they drove to Roxbury. Roxbury was on the other side of town, to be more precise, the rich side of town. She was glad that she was arriving early with her dad since he had to get there early for the required teacher arrival time. She looked out the window as they drove. The houses near the school were much bigger than theirs. When they pulled into the parking lot, Emma was greeted by the sight of a big palatial building. She'd been here before, but she'd forgotten how nice the building was.

In complete silence, Emma followed Finn into the building. The halls were carpeted, unlike at Miramar. Rather than having signs reminding the students of hall etiquette on the walls, there was students' artwork on the walls.

Finn turned to Emma. "You okay?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah - it's just so - different from Miramar."

"It is, isn't it?" Finn agreed. "Let's go to the office and I'll introduce you to the principal and your guidance counselor."

Emma followed her dad into the office as Finn knocked on the door and a man stepped out. "Mr. MacDonald, this is my daughter, Emma, who I told you about. Emma, this is Mr. MacDonald, the principal."

"Hi Emma," Mr. MacDonald said, shaking Emma's hand. "Welcome to Roxbury."

Emma smiled. "Thanks." This principal was already much calmer than Dr. Reade over at Miramar, who always seemed to be yelling.

A young blond woman came into the office. "Is this your daughter?" she asked Finn.

Finn nodded. "This is Emma. Emma, this is Miss Chase, the eighth grade counselor."

"Nice to meet you Emma," Miss Chase said. "Your dad said you had a hard time at Miramar. I hope it's better here, but if anything ever happens, you can come to my office, okay?"

"Okay," Emma said, smiling. So far the faculty at this school was nice, hopefully the students would be too. Finn checked in for the day and Emma followed him to his classroom.

"I'm nervous," Emma admitted.

"Don't be," Finn said. "Like I said, you can come to my room if things ever get too overwhelming."

"Can I just sit in here until they open the doors for students?" Emma asked.

Finn nodded. "Of course."

Emma sat in Finn's classroom for nearly half an hour. At 8:00, the bell letting students in rang, and Emma went into the halls, trying to find her way around. The first thing she noticed was how much quieter these halls were than at Miramar. Students were clustered in groups, but they were talking quietly with their friends. At Miramar, students were often screaming or causing a scene in the halls.

The second bell rang, telling students that it was time to head to their first period class. Emma went up to a girl. "Excuse me, do you know where Room 328 is?"

The girl looked at Emma. "Oh are you new here?"

Emma smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, I'm Emma Hudson. I just transferred."

"Well, you're in luck, my first class of the day is in Room 328, so you can just come with me," the girl said. "I'm Lizzie, by the way."

Emma went with Lizzie to her first class, History. Sitting in the classroom, she was again surprised by how much different it was from Miramar. The students listened to each other in class and really paid attention, even thanking the teacher at the end of class. This continued to work throughout her other morning classes - Science, Reading and Algebra I.

Emma began growing nervous again when she left her last morning class and began heading for lunch. Would she have anywhere to sit? Would the cafeteria be noisy like it was at Miramar, with food fights at least once a week and the clock exploding at least once a semester?

She got out her lunch when Lizzie and another girl stopped her. "Hey Emma, have anywhere to sit at lunch today?" Lizzie asked.

"I don't think so," Emma said.

"Sit with us then," the other girl said. "I'm Lexie by the way."

Emma followed Lexie and Lizzie to their table, where three other girls were waiting. "Hey guys, this is Emma, she's new here," Lexie told the girls.

"Hey," one of the girls said. "I'm Laura."

"I'm Izzy," another girl said.

"And I'm Meg," the last girl said.

"What school did you go to before this one, Emma?" Laura asked.

Emma groaned at the memory. "Miramar."

"MIRAMAR?" Izzy asked.

"Yeah," Emma said. "We'll just say that the people there were NOT nice."

"It's a fifty minute lunch period, there's plenty of time to tell us," Lexie said.

Emma told her new friends the story of everything that had happened at Miramar and how hard it had been, how the three girls had bullied her, how she'd ended up in the hospital.

"Oh my GOD!" Lizzie said. "Good thing you're here now."

"Yeah, just stick with us and you'll be fine," Meg said.

x

Emma's afternoon classes - writing (with her dad), art, French and choir - went well. Roxbury was a much different school from Miramar. She continued to be impressed by how much more serious the students were about school and how quiet the halls were. Here, no one would dare make fun of a student who was devoted to their studies. When the end of the day bell rang, she was about to leave school feeling good for the first time since grade school.

"Hey Emma," Lizzie said on their way out, "The five of us are going to the football game at the high school on Friday. Want to join us?"

Emma smiled. "I'd love to." She told the girls her number. "Send me texts with your numbers, okay?"

"We will!" Lexie said. "See you tomorrow!"

Emma smiled at her new friends and started heading to her dad's classroom. She was glad she had new friends, but she still did feel somewhat sick to her stomach. Her phone went off and she saw a text from Ava. "Hey, how was your first day? I miss you!"

Emma sighed, thinking of the friend she'd left at Miramar. "I miss you, too," she typed. "Maybe this weekend we could hang out?"

"How was your first day?" Finn asked when Emma came into his classroom.

"I really like this school," Emma said. "I'm glad I'm here."

"That's good," Finn said. "Looks like you've befriended a few girls."

"I have, I just feel kind of guilty about leaving Miramar, though," Emma admitted.

"It's Nick, isn't it?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Emma sighed.

"Emma, listen to me," Finn said, taking his daughter's hands. "Love is a complex thing. I know that, things were pretty crazy for your mom and me in high school. There were so many times when we could have given up on each other, but we didn't give up, because we knew that we loved each other and our love was stronger than this. Don't give up on Nick. You can find a way to make things work."

"I love you," Emma said.

"I love you too," Finn said. "How about we get home now?"

"Okay," Emma said. They got in the car and drove back to the house. When they got home, Emma just smiled at her mom and said, "You don't have to ask. School was great."

Rachel turned to Finn. "We did the right thing?"

"Definitely," Finn said. "I don't think we need to be worried about her at all there. She's already made some friends."

Rachel gave Finn a kiss. "I love you."

Finn kissed Rachel. "I love you, too."

Emma went to her room and started to do her homework, but before she did her homework, she texted Ava to make plans to hang out on Saturday. At lest she could keep this friendship going. Ava was the first person to comprehend the truth and the first real friend Emma had made at Miramar. She'd helped Emma through the last few weeks she was at Miramar, so she wanted to keep the friendship going.

But what about Nick? Emma KNEW she was falling for Nick, and falling HARD for him. Did he feel the same way about her? Now that they wouldn't be seeing each other every day, was there hope for them?

Emma heard her phone ringing and saw that it was Nick. She picked up the phone nervously. "Hey."

"Hey," Nick said. "How's Roxbury treating you so far?"

"So far, so good," Emma said. "It's only the first day, but I like it." She didn't want to tell him that she liked it MUCH better than Miramar, worried that would offend him. "I do miss you though."

"I miss you too," Nick said. "At least we'll get to see each other more once all district honor choir rehearsals start."

"That's true," Emma said. "Nick, are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" Nick asked.

"For leaving," Emma said. "You said you'd help keep me safe, but I still left."

"It's your life, Emma," Nick said. "I want you to be somewhere where you're safe and happy. That couldn't happen at Miramar."

"We'll stay in touch, right?" Emma asked.

"We HAVE to!" Nick said. "You have my number. Call and text me ALL the time. I'll be calling and texting you."

Emma was close to telling Nick about her feels for him, but she stopped herself. "I'm glad we can still be friends."

"Of course we're still friends," Nick told her. "I'm at your house all the time anyway. I'll see you soon!"

"Okay, bye Nick," Emma said, hanging up the phone. It didn't sound like Nick was ready to be anything more than friends at this point, but she was still interested in that. She'd had other crushes in grade school, but knew Nick was more than just a childhood crush. When she was around him, things felt so right, and he made her feel good about herself.

_Chapter 10 preview: More of Finchel and of Emma and Nick. Emma and her new friends go to the football game and see the bullies from Miramar - what will happen?_


	10. Chapter 10: No More Pretending

_First, let me thank each and every one of you for your reviews. I have tried to get back to each of you individually but that isn't always possible. But I appreciate all your reviews and am doing my best to check out all of your work. With the lack of Finchel stories, it's extra important that our Finchel writers keep growing strong!_

_I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review if you want me to keep going! An author's note: Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg are named after close friends of mine from fanfic and RP. They are amazing girls and I just had to incorporate them into my story! Enjoy and review if you want me to keep going!_

Chapter 10: No More Pretending?

Emma sighed as she looked at Nick's picture she'd put in her new locker at Roxbury. Since Nick didn't go to school here, she had no problem with putting his picture in her locker. Actually, she'd printed it off his Facebook page and framed it in one of Sarah's foam frames. (She wasn't sure how she'd managed to convince her sister to let her use it.) She felt so safe and relieved here, but she missed Nick every day.

"Who's that?"

Emma turned to see Lizzie and Laura standing by her locker.

Emma looked down at the ground. "A boy crush?" Laura asked.

"He saved my life," Emma said, realizing she may be exaggerating a little bit.

"He's a cutie, whoever he is," Lizzie said. "What's his name."

Emma smiled at remembering his name. "Nick Dougherty."

"The board president's son?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, the board president's son," Emma said. "He helped me a lot at Miramar. He's my brother's best friend."

"Do you miss him?" Lizzie asked.

"I do," Emma admitted. "He was the only reason I considered staying at Miramar. Well, him, my brother and my only friend who was a girl."

"If he's at the football game on Friday, I expect to be introduced to him, Emma," Lizzie said.

"You will be, trust me," Emma said.

The bell rang and the girls started walking to their classes. Emma was glad she was here, but she couldn't help but wonder what Nick was doing halfway across the district.

x

The bell rang at the end of the school day, and as soon as the bell rang, Emma heard her phone go off, alerting a text message. Emma looked at the phone, seeing it was Nick. _Do you think you can come over after school?_

Emma started typing a reply. _ To your house?_

_My dad's got a board meeting tonight and my brother's on the sixth grade overnight. Which means I have the house to myself. I could use some company and we need to catch up._

_I'll be there at six._ Emma's heart skipped a beat. Was she really going to a boy's house by herself?

"Was that Nick?" Lexie asked.

"Yeah, it was Nick," Emma said. "He wants me to come to his house after school today to talk."

"You should!" Meg said. "Maybe now you and Nick can try to form a relationship."

"Aren't we a little young for boyfriends?" Emma asked. But she knew several people who had boyfriends, though they were simple relationships.

"Well, complex boyfriends like ones high school kids have, yes," Lizzie said. "But you'd be fine just hanging out with him."

"Have you guys ever had boyfriends?" Emma asked.

"Well, middle school type boyfriends," Laura said. "It's not like the high school ones. But like we can do some sorts of affection, like holding hands or putting arms around each other."  
>"And of course, there's invisible boundaries that should NEVER be crossed, and we all know what those are," Emma said.<p>

"True," Izzy said. "But there's no harm in just hanging out."

"Okay," Emma said, taking a deep breath. "I'll go to his house."

x

After finishing her homework that evening, Emma walked to Nick's house, which was just a few blocks from hers. She knocked on the door hesitantly as he opened it.

"Hi," Nick said quietly.

"Hi," Emma said.

"Well, how about you come in?" Nick asked.

Emma went into the house. She'd never been inside his house before but it was pretty nice. For a one-parent home especially. Nick led Emma into the dining room and pulled out a chair. "I ordered Chinese for takeout. Beef with pea pods, kung pao shrimp, basil chicken and spring rolls. Sound good?"

Emma smiled and sat down. "Sounds great." She looked at the table, seeing he had lit it with candles and put flowers in the center of the table.

"A toast," Nick said, pouring water into their glasses. "To a great rest of eighth grade and that we can keep our friendship growing strong."

They began eating and talked over dinner. "How's Roxbury? I miss you," Nick said.

"I miss you too, a lot," Emma said. "I like Roxbury though, it's so quiet and the kids there are so much more serious about their studies."

"At least we'll be together at the high school next year," Nick said. "We'd better get LOTS of classes together."  
>"Oh, I'm getting my schedule fixed if we don't!" Emma laughed.<p>

"So, I'll miss being leads of the Miramar choir together, but I was thinking, we should try out to be the leads for the big concert this spring, that all the middle school choirs participate in."

"I'd love that," Emma said. "How do we try out?"

"We pick a duet to sing together and then try out in front of the middle school choir directors and the high school director," Nick said.

"Meaning my mom?" Emma said. "Because if we have to do a duet, I have one in mind."

"Really? Which one?" Nick asked.

"I'll show you after dinner," Emma told him, and after dinner, they were sitting in front of the computer. Emma found the music for "Pretending" on YouTube, a duet her parents had sang in high school. "My dad wrote this song his junior year of high school, when he and my mom were going through a rough spot in their relationship," Emma explained. "They sang it at Nationals together and they placed in the top fifteen. It's a really good song, we should do it."

"If the words pop up on the screen during the music, we can try," Nick said.

Emma smiled. "Let's do it." She pressed the button on the YouTube video.

_Nick: Face to face, and heart to heart  
>We're so close, yet so far apart.<br>Emma: I close my eyes, I look away  
>That's just because I'm not okay.<br>Both: But I hold on, I stay strong  
>Wondering if we still belong.<br>Nick: Will we ever say the words we're feeling,  
>Reach out underneath and tear down all the walls?<br>Emma: Will we ever have a happy ending  
>Or will we forever only be pretending?<br>Both: Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,  
>a-ah, a-ah-lways be pretending?<br>Nick: How long do I fantasize?  
>Make believe that it's still alive?<br>Emma: Imagine that I am good enough  
>And we can choose the ones we love?<br>Both: But I hold on, I stay strong  
>Wondering if we still belong.<br>Will we ever say the words we're feeling,  
>Reach out underneath and tear down all the walls?<br>Will we ever have a happy ending  
>Or will we forever only be pretending?<br>Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,  
>a-ah, a-ah-lways be...<br>Nick: Keeping secrets safe  
>Emma: Every move we make;<br>Nick: Seems like no one's left to know  
>Emma: And it's such a shame<br>Nick: 'Cause if you feel the same  
>Emma: How am I supposed to know?<br>Both: Will we ever say the words we're feeling,  
>Reach out underneath and tear down all the walls?<br>Will we ever have a happy ending  
>Or will we forever only be pretending?<br>Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,  
>a-ah, a-ah-lways be...<br>Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,  
>a-ah, a-ah-lways be...<br>Will we a-ah, a-ah-lways, a-ah, a-ah-lways,  
>a-ah, a-ah-lways be pretending? <em>

"That was good," Emma said.

"It really was," Nick told Emma. "You're really good."

"Thanks," Emma said. "That was one of my parents' favorite duets to sing together in high school."

"I didn't know your dad was such a talented songwriter," Nick said.

"My mom wrote a song too," Emma said. "I bet my mom will like it when we sing her song for the audition for the leads for the big concert."

"That'll give us an advantage," Nick laughed. "Just wondering, Emma, why did you choose that song?"

Emma blushed, not willing to confess her feelings just yet. "I think it's the right song for me, with everything I've gone through."

x

Finn went into the bedroom where Rachel was waiting. Rachel was staring at the picture on their bedside table from when she and Finn were in their last year of college, when Ryan and Emma were two-year-old toddlers.

Now those little children were in their last year of middle school.

"What is it?" Finn asked.

Rachel took her husband's hand. "I was just thinking. I can't believe how grown up the kids are now.

"It's pretty scary, isn't it?" Finn agreed.

Rachel buried her face in Finn's chest. "She went through so much at Miramar. I just can't help but worry about her. And now she may be getting a boyfriend."

"Nick's a good boy, you and I both know that," Finn said. "And don't worry about her. She'll be safe at Roxbury. I'm there, she has friends."

"It scares me to see our kids growing up," Rachel said. "I remember when Ryan and Emma were little and I was pregnant with Sarah. I remember when we found out I was pregnant with Ryan and Emma."

"A lot has changed," Finn said, both of them thinking about the most obvious change.

Rachel squeezed Finn's hand tight. "We should really have five kids with us now."

Finn nodded. "We should. But I do know that we have four amazing kids with us and that they make us the two luckiest people in the world."

"He watched over her, I think," Rachel said.

"He does," Finn agreed. "And he watches over all of us, too."

Finn and Rachel began kissing when they heard the doorbell ring. Hand in hand, they went to the door. "Did you and Nick have fun?" Rachel asked.

"We had an amazing dinner and we found the perfect duet to sing for our auditions for the leads at the big district wide concert," Emma sighed.

"Awww, Emma has a boyfriend!" Sarah called from the living room.

"He's just my friend!" Emma said. But Rachel could tell by the look on her daughter's face that Emma saw Nick as more than a friend.

x

The next evening, Emma was at the football game at the high school with Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg. It was the first game at the high school she'd ever been to. Heights had a pretty good football team and the band was really impressive. Ryan was at the game with Nick, but Emma hadn't seen them yet. Her parents had also brought Sarah and Grant to the game.

"The hot dogs here are really good," Meg said as the girls sat down to wait for the kickoff.

"Especially with cheese!" Izzy added.

"I don't know, I prefer them with onions and relish!" said Laura.

"They beat cafeteria food at Miramar, that's for sure!" Emma said, biting into her hot dog. This was her first time going out with a group of friends, and she was feeling rather self-conscious.

Emma looked up to see Ryan and Nick walking down the stands to where the girls were sitting. Emma gulped, spilling her soda a little.

"What happened?" Lizzie asked.

"Nick's here!" Emma whispered.

"What? Where is he?" Lexie asked.

Emma pointed at Nick and Ryan. "He's cute but his friend is cute too!" Lexie giggled.

Emma gave her a look. "That's my brother you're talking about."

"What's your brother's name?" Lizzie asked.

"His name is Ryan," Emma said. "But guys, we have lots of hot guys at our school and you're checking out my brother?"

The girls all shared a laugh. Ryan and Nick came over to the girls, and Emma introduced them to her friends. The girls enjoyed the evening at the game. By halftime, Heights was winning 30-9 and the halftime band show had been great. After the band finished performing, Emma went to the concession stand to get a drink. She froze in her tracks for about five minutes when she saw who was in line at the concession stand: Dominique, Tiffany and Brianna.

"What's going on?" Emma turned around and saw Ryan and Nick.

"Dominique - Tiffany - Brianna," Emma blurted out, still freezing.

"You'll be okay," Ryan told his sister, touching her arm.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" Emma asked. "I want to leave."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked.

"I don't want to be anywhere near them!" Emma said.

The three of them stopped and turned. "Hey, having fun with the rich preps at Roxbury?" Dominique asked.

"I am enjoying Roxbury," Emma said. "There, the kids are actually nice."

"We're not mean, we just don't like you," Tiffany said.

"Leave her alone," Ryan said. "You don't get to do this anymore?"

"Or what?" Brianna asked.

"Let's see if together, you can take down all of us." Emma turned to see her new friends from Roxbury standing there.

"Oh, the Roxbury freak attack," Brianna wailed.

"What's going on here?" The teenagers all turned to see one of the assistant football coaches.

"Um, nothing," Tiffany said before running away with Dominique and Brianna.

"Why do they think they can still find ways to torment me?" Emma asked.

"They can't," Nick said. "They can't touch you. They can't touch us."

Emma smiled at her brother, her crush and her friends. "You guys are awesome, I hope you know that."

_Chapter 11 preview: Takes place a few months later. MAJOR milestone for Nick and Emma. Another couple begins to form. More news on the bullies - news that is even shocking to Emma._


	11. Chapter 11: Friends Or Something More?

__Thanks for your support everyone! Enjoy Chapter 11 and review if I should keep going.__

Chapter 11: Just Friends or Something More?

A couple weeks had already passed. It was already mid-November, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and so far, eighth grade had been the best year yet. Switching to Roxbury had been just what Emma had needed. She had the five close friends who she did things regularly with, and there were several other people she felt friendly with. The teachers were much better than the ones at Miramar. Students were challenged more, but she'd still managed to make the honor roll first quarter.

Emma had kept in touch with Ava and the two girls were still very close. They sent each other text messages several times a week and often hung out on the weekends. Emma had introduced Ava to Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg, and they'd told her she could do stuff with them any time.

Emma was also getting closer and closer to Nick. As she did things with him as friends, her burning desire to be more than friends grew. About a week before Thanksgiving, she and Nick were at Jack's grave. Emma had felt guilty for not going to the grave in a while, especially because she'd gone so often throughout sixth and seventh grade and at the beginning of the school year. Since Nick went to visit his mom's grave, she knew Nick wouldn't think she was crazy.

"I wanted you to meet someone today, Jack," Emma said when they arrived. "This is my very special friend, Nick. He's Ryan's best friend, the one I've mentioned. He's very nice, he helped me a lot at Miramar."

"Hi Jack," Nick said. "I've heard about you from Ryan and Emma. I promise I'll try to be a good best friend to your brother and take care of your sister."

Emma looked at the gravestone. "I'm sorry it's been a while since I've visited, Jack. Well, might as well give you the biggest news, I'm not at Miramar anymore. I'm at Roxbury now, the school where Dad teaches. I like it a lot better, but I really miss seeing Nick and Ava every day, and I miss getting to spend more time with Ryan. I have five really good friends at Roxbury, Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg. I joined the swim team at Roxbury. I'm in the choir and the paper there too, like I was at Miramar. I'm also in MSSP, that's what Ryan's president of at Miramar. The family's doing well. Ryan's soccer team made it to the league finals - losing only to the team from my school. Sarah's going to be in the district wide musical, one of three elementary kids with a solo. Grant's been talking more and more and getting smarter."

Her voice began breaking as she turned to Nick. "It's still so hard."

"I know," Nick said. "It's the same for me with my mom. I really wish she was still here."

"Jack never even got to meet Grant," Emma said. "I wish he could have gotten to meet Grant. They're brothers and they'll never meet. I still don't know if I should say three or four when people ask me how many siblings I have."

"You have four siblings still, Emma," Nick said. "Three who live with you, and one who lives up above."

"Thanks for coming with me," Emma said. "I just wanted a friend to come with me. I know since you come to your mom's grave here, you wouldn't mind."

"I'll do this with you any time you want," Nick said.

They began leaving the cemetery and walking toward their respective houses. Right before Emma turned the corner for her street, Nick grabbed her arm. "Um - Emma, I was wondering, you may not want to go back to Miramar or set foot in there ever again, but - um, would you like to come to the winter formal with me the first Saturday of December?"

Emma felt elated. He may just be asking her as a friend instead of a formal date, but it had been her dream to go to a dance with Nick since sixth grade. She'd ended up staying home for winter formal in sixth and seventh grade and missed the Sixth Grade Spring Thaw and Seventh Grade Spring Fling. "I'd love that!"

"Really? You think you'll be okay?" Nick asked.

Emma nodded. "I'll have you with me. Plus Ryan's probably going to be there."

"He is," Nick said. "But I'll let him be the one to tell you who he's taking."

Emma began wondering who her brother was taking to the dance. "The Winter Formal at Roxbury is MLK weekend, so you should come with me to that."

"That would be great," Nick said. "I'll see you soon!"

Emma turned the corner, resisting to text Ava, Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg. Had Nick really just asked her to the winter formal? When she went into the house, she found her mom and Sarah working on vocal exercises. "Guess what?" Emma shouted.

"You won a million dollars," Sarah said.

"Better than that!" Emma said. "Nick asked me to the winter formal!"

"Emma, are you sure you'll be okay with that?" Rachel asked. "It's very likely that Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany will be there and you were spooked when you saw them at the football game."

"I want to go, Mom," Emma said. "Nick asked me to a dance."

"Your dad and I are going to have to talk about this," Rachel said.

Emma sighed. "Fine, Mom. But I'll be okay. I'll have Nick with me. And I hope you and Dad make up your minds soon, because when we go to New York for Thanksgiving, I want to go shopping for a dress with you, Sarah and Uncle Kurt."

Rachel smiled at her daughter. "Dress shopping in New York would be fun."

Emma began walking up to her room. In the middle of the hall, Ryan stopped her. "So, you're going to the winter formal with Nick, huh?"

"Yes I am," Emma said proudly.

"He's really excited," Ryan said. "He texted me when you said yes."  
>"What else did you think I would say?" Emma asked. "You know how much I like Nick."<br>"He thought you'd be too scared to go because of what happened when you were at Miramar," Ryan said.

"Well, I know you and Nick will be there, and from what I've heard, dances are pretty well chaperoned," Emma said. "That reminds me, who are you taking to the dance?"

"Oh," Ryan said, looking at his sister awkwardly. "I'm taking Ava."

"Really?" Emma said. "That's awesome!"

"I didn't know Ava very well in sixth or seventh grade, but I got to know her better when you two got closer," Ryan said. "She's a really great person, so I decided to ask her."

"That's great!" Emma said. "Maybe the four of us could get dinner or something before the dance."

"That would be fun," Ryan agreed.

x

"Nick asked you to the winter formal?" Lizzie asked. It was the next day at lunch and the girls were eating. To Emma's excitement, her parents had agreed to let her go to the dance, under the condition that Nick and Ryan keep an EXTRA close eye on her and made sure they stayed away from the bullies.

"Yeah, he did," Emma said with a smile.

"That's so cool!" Lexie gushed. "What did he say?"

Emma giggled. "He stumbled through his sentence."  
>"Awww, he likes you!" Laura declared.<p>

"He didn't say anything about liking me YET," Emma told her friends.

"YET being the keyword," Meg said.

"Do you have a dress yet?" Izzy asked.

"I'm getting one when I go visit my dad's brother in New York for Thanksgiving," Emma said.

"You'll have to tell us every detail of the night!" Laura said.

"Yeah, and then bring Nick to OUR winter formal in January," Izzy added.

"I already was planning on doing both those things!" Emma said to her friends.

x

"What color dress do you think would be good?" Emma asked. It was Black Friday and Emma was dress shopping with Kurt, Rachel and Sarah. They'd gotten up at 6 a.m. to go to the dress sales.

"Hmmmm... I'd say a pastel," Kurt said. "Pale pink, pale blue, lavender, something like that."

"It's her first dance, she's really excited," Sarah said.

"I would be too," Kurt said. "Emma, do you want the same dress for both dances?"

"She's getting the same dress for both dances," Rachel laughed. "Dresses here are EXPENSIVE."

"But mom, it's my first dance!" Emma protested.

"Okay," Rachel agreed. "I'll let you get one for the Miramar dance and one for the Roxbury dance. But that means you're helping to pay for your dress for the eighth grade prom."

Emma sighed. "It's a deal."

The 6 a.m. clock bells chimed, and Macy's opened its doors. Kurt led Rachel, Emma and Sarah inside. "The best dresses are on the sixth floor. Well, for teenage girls anyway. What's her size, Rachel?"  
>"Aren't you forgetting I've never bought a dress for a dance before?" Emma asked.<p>

"I'd say she's probably a 1 or a 2," Rachel said.

Sarah nudged Emma. "Emma, look at that!"

Emma turned to see what her sister had just pointed at. This did look like a great dress. It was lavender and sleeveless, with a train skirt and a small design with flowers at the top.

"That's beautiful," Emma said.

"I guess she got better fashion sense at her age than you did," Kurt said. "That dress would look nice."

"KURT!" Rachel moaned.

"At least neither of your daughters wear animal sweaters," Kurt laughed at Rachel. "You didn't ditch those until junior year of high school!"

Rachel handed Emma the dress. "Here sweetie, try it on."

Emma tried on the dress. When she came out, her mother just looked at her and said, "Nick will be so surprised when he sees you in this."

"You look really pretty, Emma," Sarah said.  
>"Thank you, Sarah," Emma said.<p>

Kurt held up another dress, a white sleeveless longer one with blue sparkles. "This one would also be good, don't you think?"

"I LOVE that one!" Emma said.

"Try it on!" Rachel said. Emma went into the fitting room and tried on the dress.

"Well, it's a good thing you're letting her buy two dresses, Mom, because if I were Emma, I wouldn't be able to choose between these," Sarah said.

"Well, I'm sure Nick will love them both," Rachel said.

x

The night of the Miramar Winter Formal arrived. Emma had chosen to wear the white dress for tonight and save the lavender one for the Roxbury dance. She and Ava were in her room getting ready. Ava had gotten a silver strapless dress.

"Your dress is so pretty," Emma told Ava. "I can't believe you're going with my brother!"

"Your brother's a great guy!" Ava said.

"Yeah, he and I are actually pretty close, for a brother and sister," Emma said.

"I am glad that the four of us are going to dinner together before the dance," Ava said. "That way we get to hang out more."  
>"Me too," Emma said. "Let's go see the boys."<p>

Emma and Ava began walking down the stairs, where Nick and Ryan were waiting. Emma looked at Nick in his tux and said, "You look great."

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life," Nick said.

Finn and Rachel took the pictures before the group went to dinner and then to the dance. The gym was decorated with white and blue lights and lots of snowflake designs. Emma held Nick's arm tightly as they entered the gym. It was her first time in the school building since she'd switched schools.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked.

Emma looked at the ground. "I don't know if I can do this."

"It's okay, you have me with you," Nick said, hugging Emma.

Emma gulped as they walked in. Ryan and Ava had already begun dancing on the floor. Emma decided to push her fears aside as she followed Nick on to the floor to dance next to her brother and her friend.

The evening went on without any troubles. At about 9 p.m., the police began running in. Emma began getting nervous again.

"It can't have anything to do with you," Ava whispered. "They've avoided you all evening."

Emma nodded, but she was still nervous. She watched the police leave with the three girls who'd tormented her for two years, but couldn't tell why.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked a chaperone.

"There were some students here under the influence of alcohol," the chaperone replied. "Don't worry, everything's fine now. Just enjoy the rest of your night."

Emma was in shock. These girls had an alcohol problem? At 13? Could this be why they were bullies?

Ryan looked at Emma. "Well, between bullying and alcohol, I don't think the board will have any choice but to expel them."

"They're probably gone now," Nick said. "You won't even have to see them at Heights."

"That's a relief," Emma said. "Let's enjoy the rest of the night."

And they did.


	12. Chapter 12: Is She Ready?

_Thank you for all your reviews. I'm sorry I took so long to update, the holidays can be overwhelming. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review if you want me to continue._

_And Merry Christmas, everyone!_

Chapter 12: Is She Ready?

Finn and Rachel sat in the living room, watching a movie while Ryan and Emma were at the winter formal. Having four kids, they rarely got "Finchel time," as they called it. Tonight though, Sarah had a sleepover at a friend's house and Grant was already in bed, so tonight, they could have time to themselves. It still awed Rachel that she and Finn had stayed together for so long and were still growing strong. Every day she loved him more and more, which she didn't think was possible.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Finn asked Rachel. "I must say, I'm a bit nervous about her being back at Miramar, but I know she really wanted to go with him."

"She'll be fine," Rachel said. "If anything had happened, I'm sure she would have called us."

"You said you knew she loved Nick," Finn said. "She must be so excited to finally be going to a dance with him. When I finally got to go out with you, I remember how excited I was."

"Oh Finn, let's not even go into how excited I was," Rachel laughed. "When you told me you loved me right before our performance at Regionals, it felt like I'd just gone to Heaven."

"I don't know how we didn't win with that duet," Finn said. "At least when we did that same duet at Nationals senior year, we won!"

"Can I let you in on a little secret?" Rachel said.

"Of course!" Finn said.

"I'm thinking that if Nick and Emma end up getting the male and female leads for the district-wide concert at Severance, I'm going to have them do that duet," Rachel told Finn. "She told me they're auditioning for the duet with 'Pretending.'"

"They're totally going to be the Finchel of their class at Heights," Finn laughed. "What's their couple nickname going to be? Nicma?"

"That sounds good," Rachel said, squeezing Finn's hand. "And speaking of couples, do you think Ryan and Ava will end up becoming a couple beyond tonight?"

"I wasn't expecting that, but I definitely like the idea of it!" Finn said. "Ryva, they could be. She's a really sweet girl, if Ryan dated her, I'd be happy."

"How did we end up raising such amazing kids?" Rachel asked.

"Because you helped make them," Finn said.

"Really?" Rachel said. "I think it's because YOU helped make them!"

"Just remember, Rach, they may not want to tell us much about what happened tonight," Finn said. "They are teenagers, after all, and we ARE their parents."

"I know," Rachel said. "I just hope they don't hide anything serious from us."

Rachel heard the door open up. She knew that Ava's parents would be picking all four of the kids up from the dance and driving them home. When Ryan and Emma came into the living room, Rachel just looked up at her kids and said, "Did you two have fun?"

"Oh, Ryan and Ava kissed!" Emma blurted out.

"EMMA!" Ryan shouted.

"That's a good thing," Finn said. "We're happy for you."

"Since Emma told you about me and Ava, there's something I'm going to tell you," Ryan said. "Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany, those girls who bullied Emma, were thrown out of the dance because they came under the influence of alcohol."

"I was actually going to tell you that," Emma said.

"They were at the dance under the influence of alcohol?" Finn said, giving Rachel a look. Rachel felt in shock. These girls were in eighth grade! Did kids really drink this young now?

"I'm glad you two had fun," Finn said.

"It was great!" Ryan said. "I just don't know why I didn't ask Ava out sooner."

Rachel followed Emma upstairs and noticed Emma was having trouble unzipping her dress. She came in, hoping to know how the night had gone with Nick. "Need help with your dress?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, thanks Mom, that would be great," Emma said. "I had Ava to help me before the dance..."

"It's fine, I remember what it was like for me at my first dance, I needed one of my girlfriends to help me with my dress too," Rachel said.

"What was your first dance like?" Emma asked after she was in her pajamas.

Rachel sat at the edge of her daughter's bed. "The first dance I ever went to was my junior prom. I went with Sam, Mercedes and this other guy as a group of friends. It was during the breakup period for your dad and me, but I would have much rather have gone with him."

"Who was the other guy, besides Sam?" Emma asked.

Rachel rolled her eyes at the memory. "Jesse."

"Mom! Jesse threw eggs at you your sophomore year and he played you!" Emma laughed. "How could you even want to go near him?"

Rachel laughed. "Honey, I just wanted to make your dad jealous."

Emma perked up. "Did it work?"

Rachel smiled wide. "It definitely worked. When Jesse and I were dancing together at one point your dad got so angry to be watching me dancing with Jesse that he came over and he and Jesse got in a fight over me. PHYSICAL."

Emma laughed. "Oh wow. Then what happened, Mom?"

"Then Jesse and your dad got kicked out of the prom," Rachel said. "Luckily for your dad and me, we got back together at Nationals a few weeks later and that was the end of Jesse St. Douchebag."

"Isn't he some big Broadway star now?" Emma asked. "I think I remember him being at Jack's visitation..."

"Yes and yes, his one act of kindness," Rachel said. "He's headlining _How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying_ right now. Kurt and Blaine still see him around New York sometimes, but he knows that I'm happily married to your dad."

"Mom," Emma gulped. "I think Nick wants to be together. As in, dating each other. I think I want to be together, but at the same time, I feel like I need some time to recover from everything that happened before I can handle a boyfriend."

"You went through a terrible thing for two years," Rachel said, taking her daughter's hand. "Nick knows what you went through and I'm sure he'd understand if you told him. Did Nick do something in particular tonight that made you think he wants to get together?"

Emma looked down.

"You don't have to tell me," Rachel said.

"Mom..." Emma began, looking nervous.

x

The Winter Formal Prince and Princess had been crowned and the slow dancing had begun. Emma looked at Nick, still feeling so lucky to be here with him tonight. The boy she'd wanted for two years had asked her to a dance. Being on the floor with him during a slow dance felt like one of those moments in those love story teen movies. At that thought, she giggled to herself.

"What is it?" Nick asked.

"Nothing," Emma said. "It's just... this feels like one of those moments in a love story teen movie... I know we're not girlfriend and boyfriend, and that sounds stupid... it's just that this is my first slow dance with a boy..."

"That's not stupid at all," Nick said. "You look so pretty tonight. Emma..."

"I'm so glad you're the first boy I've ever slow danced with," Emma said.

"I'm honored to be the first," Nick said. "And you spoke about those movies?"

Emma blushed and nodded.

"Well..." Nick paused. "This is that moment in those movies where I kiss you."

Emma froze. She'd wanted Nick to kiss her for two years, but was she ready?

Nick started to lean in. Emma jerked back. "I'm sorry, Nick. I'm not ready yet."

Nick looked disappointed. "Okay. Just let me know when you are."

"Thanks for understanding," Emma said. She continued dancing with Nick, but they both saw that Ryan and Ava were kissing in the middle of the dance floor. Emma immediately felt guilty. After two years of crushing on Nick, she'd refused a kiss from him. Was this a teenage girl thing, a human thing, or just an Emma Hudson thing?

x

"Oh Emma," Rachel sighed at the end of her daughter's story, remembering a similar experience with Finn while in high school.

"I'm such an idiot, Mom," Emma said. "He seemed to be having fun for the rest of the night but it did get a little awkward after that."

"Let me tell you something," Rachel said. "Your dad and I are the experts on crazy teen relationships. Everyone says that anyone else wouldn't have lasted through half the things we overcame. When your dad and I were juniors in high school, near the end of the school year, he tried to kiss me and I ran away."

"What happened then?" Emma asked.

"I kissed him on the stage at Nationals two days later," Rachel laughed.

"Oh man," Emma said. "So the whole audience knew how much you loved him?"

Rachel smiled at the memory. "It was amazing."

"Mom," Emma said. "I think I will call Nick tomorrow and tell him that I'd like to wait a little."

"That's a good idea," Rachel said. "Remember though, Emma, Nick may not be available forever. Maybe wait a few weeks to figure out if you really love him or want to be with him."

"I love Nick," Emma said. "I know at my age that's a risky word to use but I am in love with that boy. I just want a little more time to sort out my life."

"Okay," Rachel said. "Ultimately, you know what's best for you. But whatever you decide to do, I'll support you."

"Thank you, Mom," Emma said. "I love you."

"I love you too," Rachel said.

_Chapter 13 preview: Nick and Emma get the leads for the big concert. Ryan and Ava become stronger as a couple. More Finchel and Finchel family moments. Nick makes a confession to Emma right before the big concert - think "Journey!"_


	13. Chapter 13: Are They Ready?

_Hope everyone had a great Christmas yesterday! I know I did. I got the Glee concert DVD and Glee Volume 7, plus an iTunes card, which means lots of Glee and Finchel. I want to thank all of you for all your support throughout my writing. I know reviews were slow yesterday, probably because of the holiday, but please review if you can!_

_I'm not sure when my next update will be because tomorrow I leave for Italy and won't be back until the 7th of January. I'm not sure if I'll even get to use a computer there. I am working at Chapter 14 so I have it ready before I leave, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to post it. So if I disappear for a while, it doesn't mean I quit! I have no plans to leave any time soon._

_Now, hope you enjoy Chapter 13! The usual disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the characters you've seen on Glee, just Emma, Ryan, Sarah, Grant, Ally, Nick, Ava, Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy, Meg, Bailey, Lula, Remington, Adrian, Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany. That's something, right?_

Chapter 13: Are They Ready?

It was already March. Eighth grade was going by much faster than sixth or seventh had, though being at a school Emma actually liked now definitely helped with that.

Emma and Nick's relationship had continued. They went to the Roxbury winter formal together, not as boyfriend and girlfriend, but as friends. They went in a larger group that included Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg with their dates. The group went to dinner on Coventry, a street in their suburb with lots of restaurants and stores, and then to the dance. Many of Emma's friends were also just going to the dances with friends, so she didn't feel uncomfortable for not kissing Nick. Laura had a solid boyfriend who she obviously took to the dance and Izzy and her date became a couple within a few days after the dance, but everyone else was just bringing friends.

The night of the Roxbury winter formal, Emma was dropped off at home by Nick's dad. She went into the living room when she got home to find Ryan and Ava on the couch cuddling and watching a movie. Seeing Ryan and Ava together made Emma think that she may really be ready for a relationship with Nick. Neither Ryan nor Ava seemed uncomfortable at all. Emma always knew that her brother would get a girlfriend before she got a boyfriend, but she didn't think it would be her first real friend from Miramar.

"Hey Ryan. Hey Ava," Emma said, realizing her brother and her friend hadn't noticed she'd come in.

"Hey Emma," Ava said. "Did you and Nick have fun?"

"Yes we did," Emma said. "No scandals at this dance."

"So, how are you and Nick?" Ryan asked. "Are you two still going to try out for the leads at the Severance concert?"

"There's lots of good people who could get the leads," Emma said. "Like you two, for example."

"I'm way too shy to handle being a lead," Ava said. "We're not trying out."

"Yeah, we want you and Nick to get the leads," Ryan said. "If you're using 'Pretending' as your audition duet, Mom's going to love that."

"How did you know what song we were using?" Emma asked.

"Because Nick's my best friend!" Ryan laughed.

"Well, we are planning to use 'Pretending,'" Emma said. She felt a stinge of guilt for not kissing Nick at the Winter Formal at Miramar. He said he understood and he'd be ready when she was, but she still felt guilty. "That is, if Nick still wants to try out to be a lead alongside me."

"Of course he does!" Ava said.

"Well, sorry for invading your couple time," Emma said. "Enjoy the rest of the movie." She went upstairs to find her parents sitting on their bed, looking at a photo album filled with Ryan and Emma's baby pictures.

"Hey," Emma said.

"Hey Emma, how was the dance?" Finn asked.

Emma sighed. "It was great. I like him..."

"That's great," Rachel said. "We're happy for you. I'm sure when you're ready, Nick will be thrilled to be your boyfriend."

"We do have some news for you," Finn said. "While you were at the dance, the superintendent called. The school board voted unanimously to expel Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany for bullying and for the alcohol incident at the Miramar Winter Formal."

"They have to move out of the district," Rachel said. "You won't have to see them at Heights next year. You'll never have to see them again."

Emma had barely thought of the three girls lately, but now that she knew they'd never be a threat to her mental health and well being again. She resisted the urge to tell Ryan and Ava downstairs, but first she gave each of her parents a big hug.

"We're so proud of you," Finn said. "You survived such a difficult thing. The Emma we're seeing now vs. the Emma we saw in the fall and in seventh grade are two different people."

Emma smiled at her parents. "Now I don't have to worry about anything at Heights next year."

"You can tell Ryan and Ava if you want," Rachel said. "We didn't tell them because we wanted to be the ones to tell you."

Emma went downstairs to tell Ryan and Ava. She then texted her girlfriends at Roxbury to tell them before she texted Nick with the news, adding on to the text, "I was wondering, would you still like to try out for the leads at the Severance concert?"

Nick texted back almost immediately. "Of course I want to!"

Emma smiled to herself and shut off the phone.

x

About two months had passed and it was mid March. The Severance concert was in about three weeks. Next week would be spring break, then two weeks of school, then the concert at Severance. Nick and Emma had ended up getting the leads for the concert. Several students thought Rachel had purposefully chosen her daughter as the lead but she told them she had merely picked the people who she thought were the strongest singers.

Emma had enjoyed practicing the songs for the concert with Nick. The middle school kids were doing a medley of U2 songs. Nick and Emma would open with "With Or Without You" as the duet, then the whole group would sing "City Of Blinding Lights," then "Beautiful Day." When Emma practiced with Nick, she now got what her mom meant when she told her about sometimes when she and her dad were singing as if it was just the two of them, alone in the world. She now thought she might be ready to be with Nick.

However, a relationship was between two people. She'd already rejected Nick's advances once. After talking with Ava, Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg, she decided to write Nick a letter over spring break to tell him that she was ready to be together. A real couple.

Nick was out of town during spring break, so Emma decided that it would be a good time to send the letter. She had a slumber party over break with Ava, Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy, Meg and two girls from Mount Vernon she'd met in the honor choir named Bailey and Lula. At the slumber party, she showed her friends the letter she'd prepared for Nick. They all told her that the letter looked good. Emma took a deep breath, put the letter in the envelope and sealed it, planning to mail it the next day.

_Dear Nick,_

_I'm sorry I jerked back when you tried to kiss me at the Winter Formal at Miramar. I've kept replaying that day in my mind since it happened. If I could take back any action of my life, that's what I'd do. I appreciate what you've done for me. You've been a great friend but I think you're more than that. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for you and didn't want us to become more than just friends. I understand if you don't want to give me another chance, but if you do, please tell me._

_Sincerely,_

_Emma_

x  
>The night of the concert had already arrived. Emma was in the dressing room with the other girls. The concert was opening with a performance by the alumni brass orchestra. Right now the high school jazz band was performing. The middle school honor choir would be next. The boys were in the dressing room next door, but Emma had seen from Ryan that they were wearing black pants and shirts with white ties. The girls were wearing short black sleeveless dresses with white sashes. At Miramar students just wore dark pants and a white "Miramar Music" polo. The Roxbury music department had a designated dress for girls and suit for boys, but these were much nicer.<p>

Emma wondered if Nick had read the letter or taken it seriously. She figured it may be her fault that things weren't possible.

But Nick seemed to like her as a person. And obviously he was okay with singing with her.

A staff member came into the room. "We need you girls, the high school jazz band's finishing up."

Emma nervously wished her friends good luck and then went up to the stage. Since she and Nick were opening with the duet, they'd be entering the stage first.

Emma went up to the wings of the stage. Nick was already waiting there. Taking a deep breath she went up to him and smiled. "Break a leg."

"I love you," Nick said. Emma smiled wide at him, feeling as if something amazing had just happened. The MC announced the middle school honor choir, and the music began.  
>x<p>

"Remember our first Sectionals?" Finn whispered to Rachel in the audience. Finn, Rachel and Grant had gotten prime seats, as Rachel was one of the directors of the concert. Burt, Carole and Ally had box seats, while Hiram, Leroy, Shelby and Beth were somewhere in the balcony.

"I think I'm even more nervous now," Rachel said. "Our children, performing at the home of the Cleveland Orchestra."

"They'll be great," Finn said.

"Sarah's one of only three elementary kids with a solo," Rachel said, fiddling with her fingers. "Emma's the female lead of the middle school honor choir, Ryan has a few solos in two of the songs. I'm nervous for them."

"They're our kids, of course they'll be amazing," Finn said.

Rachel grabbed Finn's hand as the stage lit up and Emma and Nick stepped on to the stage for the duet.  
><em>Nick: See the stone set in your eyes<br>See the thorn twist in your side  
>I wait for you<br>Sleight of hand and twist of fate  
>On a bed of nails she makes me wait<br>And I wait without you  
>With or without you<br>With or without you  
>Emma: Through the storm, we reach the shore<br>You gave it all but I want more  
>And I'm waiting for you<br>With or without you  
>With or without you<br>I can't live with or without you  
>Nick: And you give yourself away<br>Emma: And you give yourself away_

_Both: And you give and you give  
>And you give yourself away<br>Emma: My hands are tied, my body bruised  
>They got me with nothing to win<br>And nothing else to lose  
>Nick: And you give yourself away<br>Emma: And you give yourself away  
>Both: And you give and you give<br>And you give yourself away  
>With or without you<br>With or without you  
>I can't live<br>With or without you  
>Nick: With or without you<br>Emma: With or without you  
>Both: I can't live<br>With or without you  
>With or without you<em>

At the end of the duet, Rachel felt tears in her eyes. Her daughter had been amazing. Finn leaned in and kissed Rachel.

"What was that for?" Rachel asked.

"Because I'm madly in love with you and that song made me think of us," Finn said. "They were great, weren't they?"

"They were amazing," Rachel said as Emma and Nick went to join the ensemble for the final song.

_Nick: __The more you see, the less you know_

_The less you find out as you go_

_I knew much more then than I do now_

_Emma: Neon heart day-glow eyes_

_A city lit by fireflies_

_They're advertising in the skies_

_For people like us_

_Both: And I miss you when you're not around_

_I'm getting ready to leave the ground_

_All: Oh you look so beautiful tonight_

_In the city of blinding lights_

_Girls: Don't look before you laugh_

_Look ugly in a photograph_

_Flash bulbs purple irises_

_The camera can't see_

_Boys: I've seen you walk unafraid_

_I've seen you in the clothes you made_

_Can you see the beauty inside of me?_

_What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?_

_All: And I miss you when you're not around_

_I'm getting ready to leave the ground_

_Oh you look so beautiful tonight_

_In the city of blinding lights_

_Ryan: Time...time...time...time...time_

_Won't leave me as I am_

_But time won't take the boy out of this man_

_Boys: Oh you look so beautiful tonight_

_Oh you look so beautiful tonight_

_Oh you look so beautiful tonight _

_Girls: In the city of blinding lights_

_All: The more you know the less you feel_

_Some pray for others steal_

_Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel... luckily_

"You're doing a great with them," Finn told Rachel.

"Yeah Mom, they were good," Grant said. "I'll get to do that too someday, right?"

"Of course you will," Rachel said. The music for the middle schoolers' final song began.

_Lizzie: The heart is a bloom, shoots up through stony ground_

_Lexie: But there's no room, no space to rent in this town_

_Laura: You're out of luck and the reason that you had to care_

_Izzy: The traffic is stuck and you're not movin' anywhere_

_Meg: You thought you'd found a friend to take you out of this place_

_Bailey: Someone you could lend a hand in return for grace_

_All: It's a beautiful day,_

_The sky falls and you feel like _

_It's a beautiful day,_

_Don't let it get away_

_Ryan: You're on the road but you've got no destination_

_Nick: You're in the mud, in the maze of her imagination_

_Remington: You love this town even if that doesn't ring true_

_Adrian: You've been all over and it's been all over you_

_All: It's a beautiful day,_

_Don't let it get away_

_It's a beautiful day,_

_Ava: Touch me, take me to that other place_

_Emma: Teach me love, I know I'm not a hopeless case_

_Girls: See the world in green and blue_

_See China right in front of you_

_See the canyons broken by cloud_

_See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out_

_See the bedouin fires at night_

_See the oil fields at first light_

_See the bird with a leaf in her mouth_

_After the flood all the colours came out_

_Boys: It was a beautiful day_

_Don't let it get away_

_A beautiful day_

_All: Touch me, take me to that other place_

_Reach me, I know I'm not a hopeless case_

_Nick: What you don't have you don't need it now_

_Emma: What you don't know you can feel it somehow_

_Nick and Emma: What you don't have you don't need it now_

_All: Don't need it now_

_It was a beautiful day_

The audience was on their feet cheering at the end of the song. Rachel watched on the stage as Nick wrapped his arms around Emma. She looked at Finn and could tell he'd seen it too. It reminded her of the time at Regionals their first year, when Finn had embraced her after New Directions' performance.


	14. Chapter 14: First Kiss

_Sorry I took so long to update! I had this chapter almost ready before I left for vacation, but didn't get to a computer until now. I get home on the 7th and will be updating more regularly then. Please comment if I should keep going, and Happy New Year to all!_

Chapter 14: First Kiss

At the end of the middle school honor choir performance, Emma just looked over at Nick. He smiled at her and gave her a big hug. Probably the biggest hug someone outside the family had ever given her.

She looked up at him and smiled at him. He extended his hand as they began walking off the stage. She squeezed his hand, feeling so happy.

"You were amazing up there," Nick said, smiling at Emma.

"So were you," Emma said.

"You're amazing, did you know that?" Nick asked.

Emma laughed. "I try to be."

"Well, you're doing a pretty good job at trying," Nick said. "Emma... in our lives we reach a moment where we find what we've been looking for has been there all along. When I'm with you I get this feeling. A feeling I've never had with any other girl. At Miramar some people may have only seen you as the quiet girl but I knew you were more than that. This year when we got to know each other better, I feel like that missing piece has finally been found."

"Nick, I guess now would be a safe time to tell you that I've had a crush on you since the first day of sixth grade," Emma said.

"Really?" Nick asked.

Emma nodded.

"You know, you could have made some effort to make something happen!" Nick said.

"I was scared, you know?" Emma said. "Everyone - well, almost everyone - at Miramar hated me."

"Those girls are gone, Emma," Nick said. "You'll never have to see them again. You're at a school where you have friends and feel safe now. You have a family who loves you." He took Emma's hand. "And you have me."

"I always feel safe and happy and wanted when I'm with you," Emma said. "The day you were in the nurse's office with me when I was bleeding, that meant so much to me. And when you came to the hospital with me and when you came to visit..."

"You're a strong girl, Emma," Nick said. "And I have no doubt in my mind that when we start high school, you'll be great. I believe in you, Emma."

Emma giggled. "Thanks."

"And there's something I've wanted to ask you for a while now," Nick said. "Emma, would you like to go out with me?"

Emma smiled. "I would love to."

They proceeded into the back room to watch the concert on screen. The elementary honor choir was currently performing and Emma got to see Sarah's small solo. Nick's younger brother who was in fifth grade was also in the honor choir.

While they were watching the concert Nick put his arm around Emma. She leaned her head on his shoulder and held his hand. Tonight was a good night to be Emma Hudson.

x

The end of eighth grade was going by fast. Nearly a month after the Severance concert, the first night Nick asked Emma out, was the district's eighth grade trip to DC. Emma had been too scared to go on the sixth grade camping trip or the seventh grade trip to Quebec, but now that Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany were gone (and living with relatives and attending innercity public schools, from what Emma had heard) she felt perfectly fine going to DC with the school district. The 200 eighth graders going on the trip were split between three hotels and Nick's room was directly below Emma's room. The district had put boys on one floor and girls on another, but she had plenty of time to spend with him when the students went sightseeing.

The last night of the trip, the students went on a ferryboat ride. Emma and Nick had been on weekend dates a few times but they still hadn't kissed yet. Emma wanted for them to kiss but understood that since she had chickened out before, she would be the one to let him initiate it. They'd been taking things slowly.

"It's been a great week, hasn't it?" Nick asked Emma after they'd been sitting quietly on the deck of the ferryboat for nearly an hour.

"I've had a great time," Emma said.

"I wanted to take you on one of those dream romantic dates but sadly our curfews wouldn't allow it," Nick laughed.

"Well, I think riding on a ferry into the sunset is pretty romantic!" Emma said.

"You do?" Nick asked.

Emma smiled. "Yeah. The whole night's been awesome. Especially the quiet time on the dock."

Nick looked at Emma. Neither one really thinking about it, they both leaned in and kissed. When they pulled apart, it was as if the world had stopped.

"Wow," Emma said. "That was amazing."

"It was," Nick agreed.

"I'm glad you were my first kiss," Emma said.

"To be honest, this was my first REAL kiss, my first meaningful one," Nick said.

Emma put her arms around her boyfriend. "I love you."

Nick hugged Emma. "I love you, too."

Emma snuggled into the warm embrace. She sure was lucky to be dating Nick. He was a nice guy and never put any pressure on her. She felt like she could be herself around him. They were in love, close friends, didn't care about what people thought of them and could do some pretty epic romantic duets together. Even if they hadn't been dating, she felt lucky just to know him.

x

"You and Nick kissed?" Ava asked that evening in the hotel room the two girls were sharing.

"Yes we did," Emma said.

"Awww," Ava said. "Is he a good kisser?"

"Yes," Emma said. "It was great."

"I love you two together," Ava said.

"Thanks Ava," Emma said. "I love you with my brother."

"Ryan and I are considering running for eighth grade king and queen for the Miramar eighth grade prom," Ava said. "What do you think of that idea?"

"Oh, my brother and my best friend?" Emma laughed. "No one else would stand a chance!"

"You're going to come with Nick, aren't you?" Ava asked.

"Of course I am!" Emma said. "Now that I don't have to worry about seeing Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany again."

"You don't ever have to worry about seeing them again," Ava said.

"Ava, I wanted to thank you for giving me the courage to tell the truth," Emma said. "You found me that day and I was brave enough to tell the truth. I just needed a friend and that's what you were."

"You seem much happier now," Ava said.

"I am happy," Emma said. "I've never been happier." As the girls turned off their lights and began to fall asleep, Emma continued to take in the moment of her kiss with Nick.

x

On the bus ride back to Cleveland, Emma was still over the moon. Nick had kissed her. Nick loved her.

She'd fought for him for two years. She'd admired him from a distance as Dominique, Tiffany and Brianna bullied her.

But he hadn't let that stop him.

Boys had been forced to sit on one side of the bus and girls on the other. But Emma had kept gazing over at Nick.

She'd told Ava, Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg that Nick had kissed her. She hadn't told Ryan, knowing that if she told her brother, he'd probably tell the family. And as much as she loved her family, her mother was a blabbermouth, and word that she'd kissed Nick would be all over the New Directions Class of 2012.

The bus pulled into the Roxbury parking lot and the teacher announced that they were back. Emma hugged Nick and said good night before getting off the bus and going to meet her family. Finn and Rachel were waiting for the kids. As soon as Emma reached her parents, Rachel smirked at her and said, "Is Nick a good kisser, Emma?"

"How did you know?" Emma blurted out.

"Your brother texted us," Finn said.

"Takes after his mom, I guess," Emma said. When Ryan came over, Emma slapped her brother. "You told them?"

"You told them about Ava and me, it's only fair," Ryan said.

"I guess so," Emma admitted.

"Did you say good night to Nick, because we left Sarah and Grant home alone at night, so we should probably get home," Rachel said.

"I said good night to him on the bus," Emma said.

"Your gossipy sister probably wants to hear all the details of your kiss," Finn said.

"So you told Sarah, huh?" Emma laughed. "Gosh, who else should we tell?"

"You're acting like it's something to be ashamed of, but it's a wonderful thing," Rachel said. "When I kissed your dad for the first time, it was as if the whole world had stood still. It was as if it was just him and me."

"That's what it was for me with Nick," Emma said.

When you stopped and thought about it, eighth grade hadn't been a bad year.


	15. Chapter 15: Glee Reunion

__EDIT: For some reason uploading this didn't work yesterday. Hopefully it'll work now.__

__Thanks everyone for your reviews! I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. I'm sorry it took me so long, I only got to use a computer once during my vacation. This is one of my favorite chapters so I hope you enjoy it. We get to see the New Directions alumni and it has some Finchel, Nicma and Finchel family moments.__

_Sad to say there are only two chapters left! I've enjoyed writing this story. Please review if you want me to finish it and write a new fanfic!_

Chapter 15: Glee Reunion

Eighth grade was going by so fast. Only four weeks were left. Emma glanced at her phone. She hadn't checked her countdown since she transferred to Roxbury. There were 19 days until graduation.

The year had gone by so fast.

Today had been a pretty good day. The eighth grade students at Roxbury had spent part of the day at the high school for a tour, class observations, lunch and meetings with counselors. Emma liked her school schedule for freshman year: Freshman Honors English, Honors Algebra 2, Honors World History, Honors Biology, Singers, Honors French 2 and Freshman Art. She'd made the Gold Stars already, and had also made the soccer, swimming and softball teams. She was going to be a tri season athlete as well. She'd also found extra curricular clubs to join.

When she got home, Ryan was at baseball practice, Finn had taken Sarah to dance class and Rachel was at rehearsals with the Gold Stars for Nationals next week. Other than Grant, who was taking a nap, Emma had the house to herself. She checked on Grant, then went back to her room. She saw her journal and realized she hadn't done well with writing in it every day, like she used to, so she got out a pen and began to write.

_19 days (counting weekends and days off) until I'm done with middle school forever. I try to write in my journal every day, but it's been weeks. It feels like I'm always either preparing for end of the year stuff at the middle school or up at the high school. Taking assessments to see what classes I'll be in, practicing with the band and choir, assessments for sports... oh yeah, I made Singers and the Gold Stars. I also got on the soccer, swimming and softball teams :) I've never played soccer or softball before but I thought it would be fun. _

_It's crazy to think that there's only 19 days of my middle school life left. For one thing, I know high school will be different because it's so much bigger. There's so many more people. All three middle schools come together at the high school, making nearly 2000 kids. This is the last month of a phase of my life. High school is a major step between childhood and adulthood. It's when you start becoming more self-reliant, you're expected to do more things on your own. Next year, Ryan and I will be in high school, Sarah will be in fifth grade (the final year of elementary school) and Grant will be starting preschool. I'll be at school with Nick and Ava again every day, which will definitely be a good thing, and I'll still get to see Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg at school. Plus I'll be with the other friends I've made. _

_Middle school is full of cliques and raging hormones. So why am I having mixed emotions about leaving? From what I've heard, things calm down in high school. There is drama, but at Heights, most people are friends. I liked it when I visited today. Everyone we met there was very nice. The first floor halls were a little too noisy, but I guess you get that anywhere you go. Two students gave us a tour. They showed us the main halls, the cafeteria, the band room, the choir room and the recreational facilities. The school has a really nice pool and the gyms are nice too. We got to meet the band and choir directors and the athletic administrator. _

_We were paired up to observe a class. I was with Lexie and we observed an Honors Algebra 2 class. There were only two ninth graders in it, but next year I'll be taking Algebra 2. The VAST majority of kids in the class were from Roxbury, so that's a plus. Even though the main kids who were mean to me at Miramar are gone, I probably won't be seeing the kids who bothered me. They were very welcoming to Lexie and me and some kids even invited us to have lunch with them. So we had lunch with some kids from the class we observed. They were so friendly to us and chatted with us. Four of them are on the swim team and they love it. I told them I'll do it next year. Seeing how nice they were made me really glad I did it. The food in the cafeteria wasn't bad. _

_So, we headed back to Roxbury after our meeting with the counselor. It was a little nerve-wracking at times, but I think I'll like Heights next year. I have friends, I have a boyfriend, I'm still getting good grades, I'll be a lead singer at the district's eighth grade graduation. Life is pretty good right now._

_I guess it's normal to be nervous about change. I was nervous right before I started at Roxbury even though I was ready to be done with Miramar after the first day. My parents, my boyfriend, my friends all say that I can succeed in high school. I guess I need to believe in myself as much as they believe in me._

X

Nationals were held the next week at Severance Hall, the same place where Emma and Nick had their first duet. It was the first time ever that Nationals were being held in Cleveland for the first time ever. Rachel had gotten five complimentary tickets, but as alumni of the reigning National Championship winning choir, Finn already had two complimentary tickets, so the whole family had seven. Emma had invited Nick to come along and Ryan had invited Ava. As they drove to Severance Hall for Nationals, Emma couldn't help but wonder if she'd be at Nationals as a competitor at this time next year.

Finn led Emma, Nick, Ryan, Ava, Sarah and Grant to the area where most of the New Directions alumni were waiting.

"Who are these young men and women?" Tina asked as the group approached.

"That's Ryan and Emma?" Santana said. "Wow, they grow up so fast in a year!"

"It's pretty scary, isn't it?" Finn said. "We all knew each other in high school, next year, Ryan and Emma will be in high school."

"That's like a time warp," Artie said.

"But I'm wondering, who are the other two? Are your babies in relationships already?" Mercedes laughed.

"Yes we are!" Ryan said. "This is my girlfriend, Ava. She's the best girlfriend ever."

"You picked a pretty one, Ryan," Sam said.

"I know I did," Ryan said proudly.

"And this is Nick," Emma said. "My boyfriend. You guys might remember him from last year."

"I knew your boyfriend looked familiar!" Brittany said.

"I hope you guys enjoy the New Directions victory this year, because next year, the four of us will be in the Gold Stars and no other team will stand a chance!" Ava said.

Emma nudged her friend. This year, part of her was voting for New Directions. It was pretty hard to cheer against her parents' alma mater, but harder to cheer against the team her mom coached.

"Well, if ANY team needs to beat New Directions, it may as well be the team with the Finchel kids," Blaine said.

"Who are you rooting for Finn?" Puck asked.

"I don't know, it's pretty hard to cheer against your wife's team and pretty hard to cheer against the team your sister's on and you were on," Finn said. "I'm just hoping for a tie."

"Yeah, Ally's singing the solo for New Directions," Kurt said proudly.

"If she's your guys' sister, it's no surprise that she's talented," Mercedes said.

Emma, Nick, Ryan and Ava took seats in front of the adults. Whenever the whole group of New Directions alumni got together, it was like a family reunion. It was great to see everyone, but it could be pretty chaotic. Finn, Puck, Sam, Blaine, Mike and Artie were talking, as were Kurt, Quinn, Brittany, Santana, Mercedes and Tina. Sarah had joined Maddie, Molly, Lilly, Alicia, Jenna and Carly while Adam, Brendan, Michael, Joey, Mitchell, Chris and Jared were playing some sort of game with Ian and Grant hanging over them.

"This is like one big family," Ava said to Emma.

"It is basically my big family," Emma said. "The other kids are a lot younger, but I still love them."

"Yeah, that's the way the board is for my family," Nick said. "Now that I've met your non biological family, I need to take you to meet the board family."

"I'd love that," Emma said, leaning against Nick.

x

Out of the corner of his eye, Finn watched his children with their significant others. He knew there was no chance they'd get as lucky as he had gotten by finding Rachel, but what they'd found was close enough.

"Nick and Ava both seem really nice," Sam said to Finn.

"Oh, they're great," Finn said. "I really hope Ryan and Emma stick with them."

"How is Emma doing?" Artie asked. "I remember you saying earlier that things were pretty rough. Are they better now."

Finn smiled and nodded. "Finally. We moved her to another school in the district and she's made some great friends there, and she's kept in touch with Nick and Ava."

"I can't believe your kids will be in high school in the fall!" Mike said.

"I'm starting to feel old," Finn said.

"You had them at 20, you'll probably be the youngest parents there," Sam said.

The announcement came that the competition was beginning. The New Directions were the first group to perform. Ally sang "My Heart Will Go On" as the ballad and then the whole group sang "Till The World Ends" by Britney Spears. Watching his sister, Finn felt so proud of her and at the same time nostalgic for his high school days. It was so odd to think that next year his two own children would be in high school. But at least he was still close with the people he'd had this great experience with.

Finn felt a nudge from Sam during "My Heart Will Go On." "Ally's amazing," Sam said.

"What have I told you?" Kurt whispered.

Finn laughed. "Next year will be crazy. My sister vs. my kids."

The Gold Stars were the last group to perform and sang "Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga as their group number, followed by the two lead vocalists singing "Love Story" by Taylor Swift as the duet. Finn felt so proud of Rachel. She was still so musically gifted and knew what great songs to use. He was confident that next year she'd put great songs for their kids.

Both New Directions and the Gold Stars advanced as top ten finalists. New Directions' group number for the finals was "Here Comes The Sun" by the Beatles and the Gold Stars used "What You Waiting For" by Gwen Stefani.

x

When the winner was about to be announced, Emma knew that she, Nick, Ryan and Ava were probably the only ones in the area they were sitting hoping for a Gold Stars victory. They were surrounded by New Directions alumni.

The 3rd, 4th and 5th place teams had been announced and only New Directions and the Gold Stars were left.

"We had two very strong teams vying for the title this year," the head judge announced. "And the winner of this year's National title is - "

Emma squeezed Nick's hand.

"THE NEW DIRECTIONS, FOR THE 15TH STRAIGHT YEAR!"

Emma still had to cheer. This was the team her parents were on when they were in high school. Also, second place was pretty exciting for the Gold Stars. It was their best finish so far.

Rachel came to join the group in the stands about an hour later. "Your group was really good Mom," Ryan said. "Don't fret, next year, the Gold Stars will win because you'll have Ryva and Nicma."

"I'm glad the New Directions are still good," Rachel said.

"It was great, Mom," Emma said.

"Don't we get a hello, Rachel?" Quinn called.

"Of course you do!" Rachel said, running over to hug her high school friends.

"Your group was really good," Quinn said.

"Thanks guys," Rachel said. "I really miss doing that with all of you."

"It was wonderful, trust me," Finn said, kissing Rachel. Watching her parents, Emma hoped that would be her and Nick one day.

"You know, the four of you don't have to stick around," Rachel said, facing the four teens. "You four can go out to dinner if you want at one of the downtown restaurants. We'll pick you up after we're done at the after party."

"Okay, thanks Mom," Ryan said. "I'll text you to let you know where we go."

"Have fun tonight, you four," Finn said.

Emma, Nick, Ryan and Ava said goodbye to the group and caught a taxi to the downtown Hard Rock Cafe. The four of them often went on double dates together, the Miramar eighth grade prom would be a double date as well.

Dinner had been fun and the four teens had called Finn and Rachel to pick them up. As they waited outside, three familiar faces walked down the street.

"Oh my God," Emma whispered to Nick. "Nick, it's them."

"Pretend you don't see them, baby," Nick said.

It was too late. Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany stopped in their tracks.

"Oh, look who it is," Tiffany sneered.

"What do you want?" Ava snapped.

"Hi Emma. I hate you. You are a dirty spoiled brat. I hope you move far away so I NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!" Dominique shouted. "You got me kicked out of our school."

"You got yourselves kicked out," Ryan said.

The car pulled up and Finn and Rachel noticed who was there. Feeling terrified, Emma watched her parents walk over.

"Oh, it's who I thought it was," Rachel said, noticing the three girls. "The three of you are going to have a talk with us."

"Oh, you're Emma's parents, aren't you?" Brianna said.

"Yes we are," Finn said. "Look, you three. Do NOT approach Emma, or Ryan, or our other son or daughter, or try to contact any of them in any way. If you do not comply, there WILL be legal trouble waiting at your door."

"You're lucky we didn't call the police about you three at Miramar," Rachel said. "Go away."

The three girls just stood there, gaping. Emma felt protected by her parents.

"GO AWAY," Finn demanded.

Dominique, Brianna and Tiffany walked away.

"Now that they're gone, did the four of you have fun tonight?" Rachel asked.

"Yes we did," Emma giggled, hugging Nick. "I'm so lucky. Well, NOW I am."

_Next chapter: Emma, Ryan, Nick, Ava, Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg graduate from middle school. Finchel family moments and Nicma/ Ryva moments. Rachel has news for Finn, Emma, Ryan, Sarah and Grant._


	16. Chapter 16: Moving Up

_Sorry this update is later than I planned. Still, I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for sticking with me throughout this story. I've enjoyed writing it so much and will definitely miss it. There is only one chapter left. I do have ideas for my next fic and will share them when I post the last chapter sometime this weekend. Hope you enjoy this chapter - it's my favorite! Please review!_

Chapter 16: Moving Up

Middle school was already over, as of tomorrow.

Tomorrow was the district's eighth grade graduation ceremony, held at the high school. Each of the three middle schools had held a special recognition ceremony earlier in the week, and tomorrow, the ceremony to officially move up would be held.

What a year it had been for Emma. Despite what had happened during her time at Miramar at the beginning of the year, when she stopped and thought about it, eighth grade was the best year she'd ever had. She had good classes at Roxbury, she'd had fun on the eighth grade trip and performing at Severance, her articles in the Roxbury paper had been good, and she had great friends and a wonderful boyfriend.

She couldn't believe tomorrow, she'd be officially promoted to high school. The high school was bigger and a bit overwhelming, but if she'd gotten through what she'd gotten through during her first two years at Miramar, she could get through anything.

Emma got out her yearbook. This was the first time she'd gotten a yearbook since elementary school. As she read the messages people had written for her (she'd even had Ryan, Nick and Ava sign it, even though it was a Roxbury yearbook), it was like confirmation she had such great friends.

_EMMA GRACE HUDSON! We're off to high school. HIGH SCHOOL. That's a scary thought. I'm so happy I found you. Just think - we'll be the leads of the gold stars and since you joined the girls teams for all my sports, we'll get to spend even more time together. And maybe you'll convince me to join a writing group. Anyway baby, thank you for being so amazing. I know middle school wasn't easy for you, but it's coming to an end and high school will be great. I cherish you and me more than anything. I love you Emma Grace. XOXO, Nicholas Robert Dougherty_

_I love you Emma! I know Miramar sucked but we're going to have so much fun at Heights next year. You're the best friend I've ever had. You are an amazing singer, writer, student and an all around great person. Ava_

_Hey Emma, you made this school year one of the most fun I've ever had. I can't wait for high school! Love, Laura_

_Emma - you're super awesome. I'm so glad I met you this year and I can't wait for high school together. Have a fun summer. Love you much! Izzy_

_Emma! I am SO glad you came to Roxbury! You are such a sweet girl, and I can't wait to see you next year. Have a super summer :) Lexie_

_Emma! It was great meeting you this year. High school's going to be even better. I hope you have a great summer! See you next year! Meg_

_Dear Emma, I'm so glad you came to Roxbury this year! You are a great friend! Eighth grade wouldn't be the same without you! Have fun over the summer and see you next year! I love you! Lizzie_

_Emma, you're more than a sister to me - you're one of the best friends I have. I'm looking forward to going to high school together next year and can't wait to see what it brings for us. Ryan _

Emma smiled after reading the messages, then put her yearbook away and went to bed.

x

Emma woke up early the next morning. Back in the fall, she'd set an alarm on her phone for graduation day. And yet she still found it hard to believe it was actually here. Heights required the girls to wear white dresses for middle school graduation and the boys to wear black suits. She'd gone dress shopping with Rachel, Ava and Ava's mom a few weeks ago. As she slipped on the white short sleeved dress and the silver shoes she'd gotten, she heard a knock on her door and opened it.

"You look pretty!" Sarah said.

"Thanks!" Emma said. Noticing her sister's yellow sundress, she asked, "Are Mom and Dad letting you miss school so you can come to graduation?"

"Yes they are," Sarah said. "And they sent me up here because they want to take pictures of you and Ryan before we leave."

"Okay, let's go downstairs," Emma said, following her sister down. "Next year, it'll be your elementary school graduation."

"I know!" Sarah said. "Do you think I should go to Roxbury?"

"Definitely," Emma said. "Ryan should have switched there when I did, to be honest."

Finn, Rachel, Ryan and Grant were waiting downstairs. Finn and Rachel took pictures of Ryan and Emma together, with Sarah and Grant, then had Sarah take one of Ryan and Emma with Finn and Rachel.

During the drive to the high school for the ceremony, Grant was whining about being hungry. Emma was fine for the distraction. She and Nick were going to be leading the vocal music performances and she was more than a little nervous.

Emma and Ryan got out of the car and walked to the gym where the other students were waiting, while Finn, Rachel, Sarah and Grant went to the stands in the football stadium, where the ceremony was being held. When they checked in, they were given programs for the ceremony. Ryan opened his first and turned to Emma. "Emma, look! Mom and Dad got us an ad on the inside of the front cover!"

Emma looked and realized that, indeed, her family had purchased a full page ad. There were three pictures of Ryan and Emma together: a baby picture, one from the first day of middle school and a recent one. Below the pictures was a message:

_Ryan and Emma,_

_Time passes so quickly! It's been rewarding watching you grow over the last three years. Life is a journey, but middle school was a roller coaster. We are so proud of you both and we love you very much. Congratulations on getting to high school!_

_Love,_

_Mom, Dad, Sarah and Grant_

"Our parents WOULD do that!" Emma laughed.

"Anyone who knows them can clearly tell that us, plus Grant and Sarah, are the center of their world," Ryan said.

Emma immediately thought of Jack and fell quiet.

"What is it?" Ryan asked.

"I wish Jack could be here today," Emma admitted.

"So do I, trust me," Ryan said.

x

Finn and Rachel took their seats in the stands with Sarah and Grant. "I wonder if they'll see the ad we got them?" Finn asked Rachel.

Rachel laughed. "I hope they aren't embarrassed."

"Our babies are 14 and going to high school," Finn sighed. "Why are they growing up so quickly? Sarah's in her double digits, Grant's starting preschool in the fall..."

"You might recognize the songs they sing at graduation," Rachel giggled.

Finn looked at the program and noticed that the choir was singing songs that he and Rachel had sang while in high school. After the graduates processed in and one of the students welcomed the families and friends of the graduates, the choir took the stage for their performance. Nick and Emma would be singing the same duet Finn and Rachel sang the night they got together.

_Nick: Highway run into the midnight sun  
>Wheels go round and round, you're on my mind<br>Emma: Restless hearts sleep alone tonight  
>Sending all my love along the wire<br>Both: They say that the road ain't no place to start a family  
>Right down the line it's been you and me<br>And loving a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be  
>Emma: Oh boy, you stand by me<br>Both: I'm forever yours...faithfully  
>Emma: Circus life under the big top world<br>Both: We all need the clowns to make us smile  
>Emma: Oh, through space and time<br>Nick: Through space and time  
>Both: Always another show<br>Wonderin' where I am, lost without you  
>And bein' a part ain't easy on this love affair<br>Two strangers learn to fall in love again  
>I get the joy of rediscovering you<br>Nick: Oh girl, you stand by me!  
>Both: I'm forever yours...faithfully<br>Ensemble: Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh  
>Oh oh oh oh oh oh...<br>Nick: Faithfully_

_Ensemble: Oh oh oh oh  
>Emma: Faithfully<em>

_Ensemble: Oh oh oh oh oh  
>Emma: I'm still yours <em>

_Ensemble: Oh oh oh oh oh oh  
>Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh<br>Oh oh oh oh oh oh...  
>Nick: I'm still yours<br>Ensemble: Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh  
>Oh oh oh oh oh oh...<br>Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh  
>Both: I'm still yours<br>Faithfully_

Finn leaned over to Rachel and whispered, "I'm forever yours, faithfully."

Rachel kissed Finn. "You're the best!" The duet they'd sang together for the first time at Regionals their sophomore year still had a special place in their hearts. The second song the group sang was sung at Regionals their junior year and had been written with their Glee friends.

_Emma: Yeah, you may think that I'm a zero_

_But hey, everyone you wanna be _

_Probably started off like me _

_You may say that I'm a freak show_

_Ava: I don't care_

_Emma: But hey, give it just a little time _

_I bet you gonna change your mind_

_All of the dirt you've been throwing my way_

_It ain't so hard to take_

_Ryan: That's right_

_Emma: Cause I know one day you'll be screaming my name and I'll just look away_

_Ryan: That's right_

_Ensemble: Just go ahead and hate on me run your mouth_

_So everyone can hear_

_Hit me with the worst you've got and knock me down_

_Baby I don't care_

_Keep it up and soon enough you'll figure out_

_You wanna be, you wanna be_

_A loser like me A loser like me_

_Nick: Push me up against the locker_

_And hey all I do is shake it off_

_I'll get you back when I'm your boss_

_I'm not thinking about you haters_

_Cause hey I could be a superstar_

_I'll see you when you wash my car_

_Ava: All of the dirt you've been throwing my way _

_It ain't so hard to take_

_Ryan: That's right_

_Ava: Cause I know one day you'll be screaming my name _

_And I'll just look away_

_Ryan: That's right_

_Ensemble: Just go ahead and hate on me run your mouth_

_So everyone can hear_

_Hit me with the worst you've got and knock me down_

_Baby I don't care_

_Keep it up and soon enough you'll figure out_

_You wanna be, you wanna be_

_A loser like me A loser like me_

_Girls: Hey you over there Keep the L up up in the air_

_Hey you over there Keep the L up cause I don't care_

_You can throw your sticks_

_And you can throw your stones I'm like a rocket just watch me go yeah_

_L-O-S-E-R, I can only be who I are_

_Ensemble: Just go ahead and hate on me run your mouth_

_So everyone can hear_

_Hit me with the worst you've got and knock me down_

_Keep it up and soon enough you'll figure out_

_You wanna be, you wanna be a loser like me_

_A loser like me_

_A loser like me_

Watching these performances confirmed for Rachel that she had a great choir lined up for next year. The final song the group sang was the victory song that New Directions had sung after winning Sectionals their senior year.

_Emma: __Give me a second, I  
>I need to get my story straight<br>My friends are in the bathroom  
>Getting higher than the Empire State<br>My lover, he is waiting for me  
>Just across the bar<br>My seat's been taken by some sunglasses  
>Asking 'bout a scar and<em>

_Nick: __I know I gave it to you months ago  
>I know you're trying to forget<br>But between the drinks and subtle things  
>The holes in my apologies<br>You know I'm trying hard to take it back_

_Ryan: __So if by the time the bar closes_

_Ryan and Ava: __And you feel like falling down  
>I'll carry you home<em>

_Ensemble: __Tonight  
>We are young<br>So let's set the world on fire  
>We can burn brighter than the sun<em>

_Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg: __Tonight  
>We are young<br>So let's set the world on fire  
>We can burn brighter than the sun<em>

_Lizzie: __Now know that I'm not  
>all that you got<br>I guess that I  
>(with Izzy: I just thought) maybe we could find new ways to fall apart<em>

_Emma: __But our friends are back  
>So let's raise a cup<br>Cause I found someone to carry me home  
>Ensemble: Tonight<br>We are young  
>So let's set the world on fire<br>We can burn brighter than the sun_

_Meg: __Woah!_

_Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg: __Tonight  
>We are young (Boys: We are young)<br>So let's set the world on fire (Ensemble: fire)  
>We can burn brighter (Ensemble: brighter)<br>Than the sun_

_Ava: __Carry me home tonight (Ensemble: Na na na na na na na na)  
>Just carry me home tonight (Ensemble: Na na na na na na na na)<br>Carry me home tonight (Ensemble: Na na na na na na na na)  
>Just carry me home tonight (Ensemble: Na na na na na na na na)<em>

_Ryan: __The moon is on my side (Ava: Carry me home tonight)  
>I have no reason to run (Ava: Just carry me home tonight)<br>So will someone come and carry me home tonight_

_Lexie: __The angels never arrived (Boys: Na na na na na na na na)  
>But I can hear the choir (Girls: Just carry me home tonight)<br>So will someone come and carry me home_

_Emma: __Tonight  
>We are young<em>

_Emma and Nick: __So let's set the world on fire  
>We can burn brighter<br>Than the sun_

_Laura: __We are young_

_Laura and Izzy with Ensemble: __Tonight (Meg: Yeah!)  
>We are young (Boys: We are young)<br>So let's set the world on fire (Girls: fire)  
>We can burn brighter (Girls: brighter)<br>Than the sun_

_Nick and Emma: __So if by the time the bar closes  
>And you feel like falling down<br>I'll carry you home tonight_

"Looks like we have some talent coming to the Gold Stars this fall!" the MC said before introducing the band. The band played a few songs, one student from each middle school spoke, then there was the awarding of diplomas.

After the ceremony Finn and Rachel led Sarah and Grant outside to wait for their kids. They met up with Ava's parents when Ryan and Ava came running over, hand in hand.

"WE DID IT!" Ryan shouted. "We're going to high school!"

"I'm so proud of you!" Rachel said.

"Pretty exciting," Ava's mom said. "Let's take a picture of you two."

Finn took a picture of them, as did Ava's mom. "Where's Emma?" Ava's dad asked.

"I'm right here!" Emma said, nudging her mom. Nick was close behind her.

"Picture!" Finn said, holding up his camera. Rachel watched her kids and their significant others and how happy they seemed.

The Hudson family walked around, meeting up with several of Ryan's friends and taking pictures with them. As they were about to leave to go out to lunch, Rachel saw Lexie running over. "We've been looking for Emma," Lexie said. "We want a picture of all six of us."

"I'm on my way," Emma said, following Lexie to join Laura, Izzy, Meg and Lizzie. Rachel took a picture of the six girls, thrilled that her daughter now had a group of close friends.

x

That weekend, Finn and Rachel hosted a graduation party for their kids and several close friends of theirs. After dinner, since there had only been one speaker at the actual graduation ceremony from each school, they told the kids if they wanted to give a mini speech, they could. Several of the kids, including Ryan, said a few words, and then Emma decided she had to say something. There were so many people who she may not have made it to this point without.

"Middle school was a rocky road for me for the first two years," Emma said. "Many people here know my backstory from middle school, but thanks to many people, eighth grade was a great year, and I think high school will be great as well.

"To my mom and dad, you are the two best parents that I could ask for. I'm not just saying that because you were the ones who created me, but because you've stood by me every step of the way of this crazy journey. Thank you for going up to Miramar on that day this fall and talking to the board. Thank you for loving me no matter what and supporting me in everything I do.

"To Ryan, some people didn't know we were related, let alone twins, at the beginning of our time at Miramar. But even though we lived in different worlds there, you were my source of security and I never felt bad about myself when with you. You encouraged me to join the only group at Miramar I felt part of. You're not just my brother, you're a very close friend.

"To Sarah, I know we've had our ups and downs, but I cherish the bond we have as sisters. You're one of the most talented people I know, but again, you're more than that. You're a great girl, you were there for me when I needed you and you know how to make me smile and laugh.

"To Grant, you're so young you probably don't know what's going on today. But as my littlest brother, you hold a special place. Your innocence helps us all - seeing your view on the world can help us see the good in everyone.

"To Ava, if it wasn't for you I probably never would have told anyone. Thank you for finding me that day and giving me the courage to tell the truth. You are an amazing person and I feel so lucky to have you as my friend.

"To Lizzie, Lexie, Laura, Izzy and Meg, you made my transition to Roxbury so much easier by reaching out to me on the first day. Thank you for being my friends. I have a great time with you and can tell you anything.

"To Nick, it's safe to say you saved my life. You never left my side either of the times I was injured, really, attacked. I love you. I'm so lucky you're my boyfriend. You've helped me come out of my shell and you've given me more confidence. You respect me and always make me feel safe.

"So I really want to thank all of you for getting me to this moment."

Some of the other people spoke. Nick took Emma's hand and held it. Emma smiled at him and leaned up against him.

x

After the party, Emma was helping her parents and siblings clean up. "Your speech was better than mine!" Ryan told his sister.

"I don't think so," Emma said.

"You're a writer, of course," Ryan said.

"You two did speak about how much your siblings mean to you," Finn said.

"They ARE important!" Emma said.

"Well - " Rachel began. "How would you guys feel about adding another one?"

"Are you serious?" Sarah shouted. "Mom, you're having a baby?"

"And you haven't even told me!" Finn said.

"I was waiting for the right moment to tell all of you," Rachel said.

"I'd like that," Ryan said.

"Me too," Sarah added.

"Yeah, same," Emma said.

"Would you like a little brother or sister, Grant?" Finn asked.

"BROTHER!" Grant shouted.

"We don't know yet!" Rachel laughed.

"It SHOULD be a girl," Sarah said. "You've already had three boys. Time for another girl."

"Well, no matter what it is, the kid will have a pretty hard task: to be loved by us as much as the five amazing kids we've already had are," Finn said.

"Awww!" Emma said. She really was loved. By her family, by her friends, by her boyfriend. The people who had hurt her were out of her life forever. High school had good things in store for her. Tonight, everything was finally perfect.


	17. Chapter 17: First Day Of High School

_Well, here it is - the last chapter! Thank you to everyone for sticking with me (and Emma) throughout Emma's eighth grade journey. I really enjoyed writing this story and hope that by covering some controversial issues I made at least somewhat of a difference. I will definitely miss it and it was hard to write the last chapter!_

_I have some ideas for my next fanfic. I'm considering writing two at once, updating each once or twice a week. What do you think of that idea? One would be a high school Finchel story. Rachel is heading for NYADA and Finn is still conflicted. He's considering the army, but a twist of events in Rachel's event changes everything. The other would be a future Finchel fic, a sequel to this one, covering freshman year of high school for Emma, Ryan and their friends. It would feature a lot of Emma, but also some storylines about Ryan, plus Emma helping Nick cope with life changing family news. Also Finchel during Rachel's pregnancy - should she have a boy or a girl?_

_For the last time - please review and let me know what you thought of this story, your favorite part, and what you think of my next ideas!_

Chapter 17: First Day Of High School

Rachel looked at the four backpacks packed, side by side. This was the year. Ryan and Emma would be starting high school, Sarah was starting her last year of elementary school and Grant was starting preschool.

What a contrast today was in contrast to this year last year. Last year they'd been dreading the return to school, today there was nothing to worry about.

"Morning sweetie," Finn said, sneaking up behind Rachel and giving her a quick kiss.

"Finn!" Rachel giggled. "I didn't know you were up!"

Finn laughed. "Yup, let's see how long the kids take to get up. To be honest, I'll miss having Emma at Roxbury with me."

"Don't worry, next year you'll get Sarah," Rachel said. "I, meanwhile, get both Ryan AND Emma at Heights with me."

Finn smiled and touched Rachel's growing baby bump. "Until you have to leave on maternity leave."

Rachel giggled. "Yeah, I expect you to help them after school to prepare for Nationals if I'm not back in time."

Finn smiled. "You can count on me. How's the baby doing this morning?"

"He or she's been moving around a lot," Rachel said. "Just think, next week we'll find out if it's a he or a she."

"I can't wait," Finn said. He put his hand on Rachel's stomach as the baby kicked.

"How's the baby?" Rachel and Finn turned to see that Emma was up.

"Your little brother or sister has started kicking," Finn said. "Come on over and maybe you can feel a kick."

Emma came over and put her hand on Rachel's stomach, feeling another kick. "Wow! I remember you'd let me feel Sarah, Grant and Jack kick too."

Rachel smiled at her daughter. It was nice to see her looking so happy. Last year she'd been so reluctant to go to school. Now she was the first of her siblings up, looking excited, complete with a "Heights High School" shirt.

"I'll probably be one of the few high school kids getting a little brother or sister this year," Emma said proudly.

"That's true," Finn said. "And once we know what it is, you know that you and your siblings are getting to pick the name."

"It has to get approved by us though," Rachel added.

"I know," Emma said. "I remember you guys told me about when you were naming Ryan and me... lots of names got eliminated."

"Speaking of Ryan, isn't your brother excited for high school?" Rachel asked.

"I'm sure he is," Emma said. "He's upstairs, talking on the phone with Ava."

"Are the four of you still walking to school together today?" Rachel asked.

"Of course we are," Emma said. "It's nice out and we don't have a bunch of heavy books."

"Do you know what time Nick's planning on getting here to walk to school?" Finn asked.

"He was thinking about 8," Emma said. "That gives us half an hour. Same with Ava."

"You four be careful," Rachel sighed, thinking of all the difficulties from Emma's time at Miramar.

"Mom, I'll be fine," Emma said. "I'll have Ryan and Nick and Ava with me. Once I get to school I'll have Lizzie and Laura and Meg and Izzy and Lexie. And even if something happens, I know where your room is."

"Okay, honey, sorry for being an overprotective mother," Rachel said, hugging Emma.

Finn leaned down and whispered to Emma, "I've seen it five times. Her pregnancy hormones do make her mildly crazy."

Emma giggled as Ryan came downstairs. "Emma! We're in high school now!"

"I know, I can't wait!" Emma said.

Rachel felt happy that her kids were so excited about starting high school, but also a little sad. Ryan and Emma were no longer the little kids who thought their parents were so cool, spilled their milk at dinner or rode tricycles down the street. They were becoming an independent young man and woman, going off to high school to make their marks on the world.

"Don't be sad, we'll always be your little boy and your little girl," Ryan said.

"I know," Rachel sighed. "Now where are your brother and sister?"

"Right here!" Grant shouted, running into the living room.

"You're finally starting school!" Finn said.

"Like Ryan and Emma and Sarah!" Grant said.

"That's right!" Finn said. "Your preschool's at the same school that your siblings went to elementary school."

"Only one more year of elementary school!" Sarah said, coming in.

"Then you'll have the honor of going to school at mine," Finn said.

Rachel smiled to herself. She felt so lucky to have an amazing husband and four great kids.

"We'd better take the first day of school pictures before the significant others arrive," Finn said, getting out the camera and taking pictures of all four kids together. As soon as he put the camera down, Rachel heard a knock on the door and went to answer it, seeing Ava at the door and Nick coming up the walkway.

"Come on in," Rachel said, leading Ava and Nick in. "You two excited for your first day of high school?"

"You know it!" Ava said before running into Ryan's waiting arms. Rachel leaned and whispered to Nick, "You take care of Emma."

"Don't worry," Nick said. "I won't let the mean kids anywhere near her."

The four teens talked briefly before Emma looked up at her mother. "I think we're ready to go now."

"Okay," Rachel said, feeling her anxiety rise. "Have a great day, you guys."

"We will," Ryan said. "I'm sure we'll see you, Mom."

Nick took Emma's hand and led her out the door, with Ryan and Ava following close behind. Rachel stood on the porch and watched them walk down the street until they were out of eyesight. Finn stood next to Rachel and put his arm around her. "They'll be all right," he said.

Rachel looked into her husband's eyes and kissed him. "I know they will."

x

The walk to the high school was about 20 minutes. By the time Emma arrived at her locker, other students were starting to arrive. It was hard to believe today was really here. She was really in high school now. But if she'd gotten through everything that had happened at Miramar, there was nothing at Heights she couldn't handle.

"You okay?" Nick asked.

"I'm more than okay, I'm great," Emma said. "I think high school's going to be a great experience."

"So do I," Nick said. "At least we have three classes together."

"Yeah," Emma said. "Plus our lockers are near each other."

"Remember though, if anything ever upsets you, just tell me," Nick told Emma. "I'm not going to let anything like that happen again," Emma said, putting her lunch in her locker.

"We should probably get to our first period classes," Nick said.

"Yeah, we should," Emma said. "I'll see you third period. Love you!"

"Love you too," Nick said, hugging Emma.

Emma began walking to Room 318, her first period class room. Then, the first bell rang.


End file.
